Iran hypersonic missile claim raises nuclear watchdog concern
An Iranian general claimed Thursday that the Islamic republic had developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defence systems, raising concerns from the UN nuclear watchdog.
Hypersonic missiles, which like traditional ballistic missiles can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound.
"This hypersonic ballistic missile was developed to counter air defence shields," General Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace unit, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
"It will be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defence," he said, adding that he believed it would take decades before a system capable of intercepting it is developed.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, speaking at a UN climate summit in Egypt, expressed concerns about the announcement.
"We see that all these announcements increase the attention, increase the concerns, increase the public attention to the Iranian nuclear programme," Grossi told AFP.
But he added that he does not see this as "having any influence" on negotiations over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.
The announcement comes after Iran admitted on Saturday that it had sent drones to Russia, but said it had done so before the Ukraine war.
The Washington Post reported on October 16 that Iran was preparing to ship missiles to Russia, a report Tehran rejected as "completely false".
It also comes at a time protests have rocked Iran since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for allegedly flouting the Islamic republic's hijab dress code for women.
- Stalled nuclear talks -
Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles fly on a trajectory low in the
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
