Iran is ‘region’s prime defence power’, says military official 

A senior Iranian military official has lauded the country’s defence achievements, describing the Islamic Republic as the “first” defence power in the Middle East.

According to PressTV, the spokesman for Iran’s Defence Ministry, Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, made the remarks during a ceremony yesterday in commemoration of the martyrs of the devastating eight-year war with Saddam Hussein-era Iraq, known as the Imposed War.

“Today, Iran is the region’s prime power in defence,” Talaei-Nik said, adding: “We were all by ourselves before the war, but today they say no equation in the region can be balanced without Iran; this is the defensive power that has been achieved.”

Iran's Armed Forces hold military parades, display their latest equipment on occasion of Holy Defense Week

Follow Press TV on Telegram: https://t.co/0EMmcJs6DL pic.twitter.com/8Z37AKQdUf

— PressTV Extra (@PresstvExtra) September 22, 2023

Commenting on the various threats posed against the Islamic Republic, the ministry spokesperson said Iran is in possession of precision strike missiles that are capable of hitting nemesis Israel, including one named after the late Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani who was assassinated in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020.

READ: Iran congratulates Saudi Arabia on National Day

“Today, we have missiles at our disposal that we have named ‘Israel-striker’ missiles,” Talaei-Nik said. “We have Israel-striker missiles; Martyr Haj Qassem missile is a missile capable of striking Israel.”

The Defence Ministry has previously announced that the surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range of 1,400 kilometres, weighing over seven tonnes, with a 500 kilogramme warhead.

On Friday, as part of commemorations for the “Holy Defence Week,” Iran unveiled its military hardware during a parade, including “the longest-range drone in the world” – the Mohajer-10 which has operational range of 2,000 kilometres and can fly for up to 24 hours. Its payload reportedly can reach 300 kilogrammes, double the capacity of the Mohajer-6 drone.

READ: Iran foils 30 ‘terrorist’ attacks, arrests 28 Daesh members