Iran unveils new weaponry amid regional tensions

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – The Iranian army has unveiled a new and upgraded version of the indigenous air-to-surface anti-armor missile system amid rising tensions in the region.

The precision-guided missile named Shafaqh (Dawn) was showcased at a ceremony in Tehran on Saturday in the presence of army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi and other senior military officials, state media said.

The missile system has been developed by local Iranian military experts and is capable of hitting targets within an operational range of 20 kilometers and can be employed for various tactical and operational strategies.

Iran’s state media, citing officials, said Shafaqh can be installed on various Iranian army helicopters and comes with an upgraded warhead, “fire and forget” capability, infrared search and tracking system and guidance technology, enabling it to hit targets with high precision in various climatic conditions.

Other weapons were also displayed during the event, including long-range cruise missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, reconnaissance and suicide drones, super-heavy tank transporters, the homegrown Yousef night vision systems and combat simulation systems.

Qadr-29 missile system was also unveiled that will be installed on Bell-206 helicopters. It is capable of launching missiles with a minimum four-kg warhead up to 150 kilometers, according to local media.

A missile system tied with Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters was also showcased during the event which is equipped to use “fire and forget” missile technology for launching missiles such as Qaem and Almas.

The first-of-its-kind military exhibition came amid heightened tensions in the region after a string of attacks on Israel and US-linked vessels in the Red Sea as well as attacks on US military bases in both Syria and Iraq.

Washington has blamed Iran for the attacks and has in response targeted sites inside Yemen as well as facilities of groups in Iraq and Syria.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a statement on Saturday condemned the US strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq, terming it a violation of the territorial integrity of the two Arab countries.

He also denounced the US attacks on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have launched a series of attacks at Israel-bound vessels, including those of the US and the UK, in the strategic waterway in a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been bombed by Israel since Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack.