Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards fired cruise missiles during a major military exercise in the south of the country
December 21, 2021, 8:31 a.m.
Read for 2 minutes
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSend this article via email
TEHERAN, Iran – Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards fired cruise missiles during a major military exercise in the south of the country on Tuesday, media reported.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, did not provide any information on the type and range of the missiles. However, it was said that five cruise missiles and an unspecified number of attack drones successfully hit their targets.
The guard has said in the past that they have cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). It also has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, more than enough to reach archenemy Israel and US military bases in the region.
The five-day annual exercise, which began on Monday, took place a few days after talks to revive Tehran’s nuclear deal with the world powers were broken off. Iran has accelerated its nuclear advances as negotiations on a return to the deal struggle to move forward.
Iran holds military exercises from time to time aimed at improving the operational readiness of its armed forces and testing new weapons.
Last month, the Iranian military began its annual war games in a coastal area of the Gulf of Oman.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal and again imposed devastating sanctions on Iran. Tehran has since started enriching uranium to a purity of 60% – a short technical step from the 90% needed to make an atomic bomb.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful. But the country’s steps away from its obligations under the 2015 agreement have alarmed Israel and other world powers. Israel has repeatedly threatened unilateral measures against the Iranian nuclear program.
