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Iran announced it had developed a long-range cruise missile, and threatened to kill former US president Donald Trump in revenge. Photo/IRGC/WANA/Handout via REUTERS
TEHERAN – Iran announced it has developed a long-range cruise missile that can reach targets as far as 1,650 km.
In the announcement, Tehran also threatened to kill former US president Donald Trump to avenge the death of General Qassem Soleimani.
Amirali Hajizadeh, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace force, told state television that the death threat was announced on Saturday (25/2/2023).
“We want to kill Trump,” he said. “Our cruise missiles with a range of 1,650 km have been added to the missile arsenal of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Hajizadeh.
Also read: Iran will turn the Qaher-313, which looks like the US F-35 stealth jet, into a pilotless aircraft
State television has broadcast what it says is the first footage showing the new Paveh cruise missile.
Hajizadeh said Iran had no intention of killing the “unfortunate soldier” when it launched a ballistic missile attack on US-led troops in Iraq days after Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.
“God willing, we want to kill Trump. (Former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo…and the military commander who issued the order (to kill Soleimani) must be killed,” Hajizadeh said in a television interview.
Iran’s leaders have often vowed to avenge Soleimani’s death.
Iran has expanded its missile program, especially its ballistic missiles, ignoring the concerns of the United States and European countries. Tehran says its missile program is purely defensive and deterrence in nature.
Iran admits to supplying Russia with drones, but that was before the war in Ukraine.
Russia has used Iranian-made drones to target power plants and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
In November, the Pentagon said the United States was skeptical of reports citing Hajizadeh as saying Iran had developed a hypersonic ballistic missile.
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