DUBAI: Iran said on Wednesday it has the technology to build supersonic cruise missile, Iranian state media reported, an announcement likely to heighten Western concerns about Tehran’s missile capabilities.

The announcement comes days after reports on the arrival of over 3,000 US sailors and Marines aboard two US warships in the Red Sea to deter Iran from seizing and harassing merchant ships travelling through the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz.

“The supersonic cruise missile will open a new chapter in Iran’s defence programme, as it is extremely difficult to inter­cept a cruise missile flying at supersonic speeds,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

“The new cruise missile is currently undergoing its tests.” Despite US and European opposition, Iran has said it will further develop its “defensive” missile programme. However, Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its missile capabilities.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, says its weapons are capable of reaching the bases of arch-foes Israel and the United States in the region.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2023