ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran on Sunday unveiled the latest additions to its military gear including a cruise missile system able to hit targets 1000 kilometers away, the country’s state media reported.

“The Talaiyeh missile system has a range of more than 1000 kilometers,” Iranian state media quoted navy chief Adm. Shahram Irani as saying during the ceremony. 

Among the other key features, he said, is that its target can be changed mid-flight, that a “complex flight plan” can be designed for the missile and that it can “move towards its target”. 

Iran’s state-controlled media outlet went on to note that the Nasir missile system has a 100-kilometer range and can be installed on different missile launcher units. The latest version was installed on a missile launcher ship at the Konarak port in southeastern Iran.

Iran’s military industry full speed ahead

Despite being crippled with numerous sanctions from the US and EU countries, Iran has time and again introduced new additions to its military.

The country’s ballistic missile program has long been a point of concern for the US and its allies, who claim Iran is enriching uranium at its nuclear plants with an intention of developing weapons of mass destruction.

In June, Tehran unveiled its first hypersonic ballistic missile. It claimed at that time that the missile could penetrate all air defense systems in existence.

In the ceremony on Sunday, Irani stressed that the new advanced missile systems - along with reconnaissance helicopters and drones - had all been designed and developed by the country’s military industry, reaffirming the country’s ability to develop cutting-edge military grade weaponry.

Iran’s plans and potential a thorn in the West’s side

Despite Tehran on several occasions claiming its uranium enrichment is only for civilian purposes, the country has continued to develop weaponry that seems to suggest otherwise. 

The Islamic Republic’s latest addition to its military arsenal comes at a time of great uncertainty in the region, with Tehran having been accused on numerous occasions of providing drones to Russia in the war in Ukraine.

It is now being accused of aiding the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

The Iranian government often uses unveiling ceremonies like Sunday’s as a form of indirect communication with Tehran’s regional foe, Israel. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled a tactical missile with the capacity to reach Israeli cities in April 2022.

In May of this year, Iran unveiled the Kheibar ballistic missiles with a range of 2000 kilometers. The name of the missile was a reference to Khaybar, a town in modern day Saudi Arabia that was the site of a deadly battle between Muslims and Jews in 628 CE. During the battle, Muslims led by Prophet Mohammed forced the Jewish community out of the area.

With no International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors having access to the country’s nuclear facilities and talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord being left at a stalemate for months, Iran is generally believed to have had the chance to bring in major improvements to its missile capacity. 

Tehran has on several occasions used bases of Iranian Kurdish armed and political opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region as a training ground to test its latest weapons. 

In September, the IRGC launched over 70 ballistic missiles and dozens of suicide drones towards the bases of those parties, killing over a dozen people.