Iran set to unveil hypersonic missile ‘soon’: IRGC commander

Iran is preparing to unveil a hypersonic missile in the near future, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said on Monday.

This comes after Iran last week unveiled a new ballistic missile capable of reaching a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying warheads weighing over a ton.

“The hypersonic missile has passed its tests and will be unveiled soon,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC’s aerospace unit, as saying.

“This new missile is capable of passing through all missile defense systems. It targets the enemy’s anti-missile systems and is a big leap in the field of missiles,” he added.

“The hypersonic missile has a high speed and can maneuver in and out of the atmosphere.”

In November, Hajizadeh made the initial claim that Iran had developed a hypersonic missile. The claim was met with doubts from Washington, with a Pentagon spokesperson saying that the US was “skeptical” of the assertion.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at speeds at least five times faster than the speed of sound, following intricate trajectories that make interception challenging. Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles travel at low altitudes in the atmosphere, potentially enabling them to reach targets more swiftly.

On Thursday, Iran unveiled the Kheibar missile, which is an updated version of the Khorramshahr, the country’s longest-range missile to date.

State news agency IRNA described the Kheibar as “a liquid fuel missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a 1,500 kilogram warhead.”

The US described Iran’s missile program as a “serious threat” following the unveiling.

“Iran’s development, and proliferation of, ballistic missiles poses a serious threat to regional and international security and remains a significant non-proliferation challenge,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.