The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says that Iran has developed missiles which can hit and destroy enemy targets with a margin error of less than 10 meters. "Missiles with the capability to hit targets with a margin of error of less than 10 meters are one of the weapons owned by just a few countries," Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said at an exhibition of the country’s latest military technology.  Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys the capability to produce and use such weapons," he further boasted.

Last month, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) Ground Force also fired several smart rockets it claimed had pin-point precision striking capability. I.R.G.C. Deputy Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami also said in February that Iran was in possession of precision-striking ballistic missiles which can target warships and mobile objects. "(Iran's) Achievement of the technology to build such missiles is an astonishing phenomenon and we don’t have any information showing that the US or Russia have been able to manufacture ballistic missiles which can target mobile vessels in the sea with a 100% precision."

Comment: Baqeri’s comment about developing and enhancing Iran’s missile capabilities comes at a time when tension between Washington and Tehran has been heightening because of the latter’s latest launch of several ballistic missiles. Washington says Iran’s ballistic missile tests violate the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and prohibits Tehran from working on missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.

Although the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities involved in Iran’s missile activity and warned Tehran against further missile tests, the message from Tehran has been one of defiance. Right after Washington put Iran “on notice,” the I.R.G.C. test-fired more ballistic missiles. Iranian leaders have repeatedly stressed that Iran would continue to develop its military capabilities “at all cost” and planned to launch more advanced missiles in the future. On February 23, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said that Iran had increased the range, precision and longevity of its ballistic missiles and will continue to increase its defensive power. “Today, the primary and religious duty of Muslims is to liberate Jerusalem and to destroy the cancerous seed of evil Zionism,” he added.


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