Iran says it has developed hypersonic missile

TEHRAN: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general claimed on Thursday that the Islamic republic has developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defence systems, raising concerns from the UN nuclear watchdog.

Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles which can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly more than five times the speed of sound. “This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to countre air defence shields,” General Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace unit said, quoted by Iran´s Fars news agency.

“It will be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defence,” said the general, adding that he believed it would take decades before a system capable of intercepting it is developed. “This missile, which targets enemy anti-missile systems, represents a great generational leap in the field of missiles.”

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi expressed concerns about the announcement. “We see that all these announcements increase the attention, increase the concerns, increase the public attention to the Iranian nuclear programme,” Grossi told AFP on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

But he added that he does not see this as “having any influence” on negotiations over the Islamic republic´s nuclear programme. The announcement comes after Iran admitted on Saturday that it had sent drones to Russia, but said it had done so before the Ukraine war.

The Washington Post reported on October 16 that Iran was preparing to ship missiles to Russia, but Tehran rejected the report as “completely false”. Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles fly on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching targets more quickly.

Iran´s claim to have developed a hypersonic missile also follows its announcement on November 5 of the successful test flight of a rocket capable of propelling satellites into space. The United States has repeatedly voiced concern that such launches could boost Iran´s ballistic missile technology, extending to the potential delivery of nuclear warheads. In March, the US government imposed sanctions on Iran´s missile-related activities. Iran on Wednesday warned its neighbours including Saudi Arabia that it would retaliate against moves to destabilise it amid the protests sparked by Amini´s death.