IRGC Commander says Tehran tested new missile

CAIRO - 24 August 2019: Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami said in Saturday press remarks that Iran has already “tested a new missile.”

Salami said Iran “is always” the arena for testing a variety of defense and strategic systems.

He further stressed that the testing was a success and that it would contribute towards the growth of Tehran’s deterrent power.

Salami did not elaborate on the type and range of the new missile, but it appears from what he said that the missile was test fired on Friday, according to local Iranian media.

A CNN report quoted U.S. officials last week as having said that Iran was going to test fire a missile shortly.

The report had said that Iran would probably introduce the new missile as a satellite carrier, although the United States will call it a test within the framework of Iran's missile development program.

One of the objectives of the United States' pull-out from the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 was to start a new round of negotiations to curb Iran's ballistic missile program among other things.

On Friday, Iran’s deputy defense minister Qassem Taqizadeh said his country has precision missiles it has not unveiled to be able to surprise its enemies. “A lot of accomplishments cannot be revealed through the media, so we hide them” to surprise the enemy when the day comes, he said.