Iran recently unveiled its new Etemad ballistic missile with a range of 1,700 km during a ceremony in Tehran attended by the country’s president Massoud Pezheskian.

Iranian state television broadcast images of the ‘Etemad’ (trust, in Persian) missile, which was presented as the latest ballistic missile manufactured by Iran’s Defence Ministry.

The missile in question is 16 metres long and 1.25 meters in diameter, and carries a guided warhead

Western countries are concerned about advances in Iran’s ballistic missile programme, which they accuse of seeking to destabilise the Middle East, with its new missiles having a range long enough to hit Israel.

The ceremony was held on the occasion of National Aerospace Day and a few days before Iran’s celebrations of the 46th anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic on 10 February 1979.

After the inauguration on 20 January of US President Donald Trump, who during his previous term (2017-2021) had implemented the so-called ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, Tehran has increased its moves aimed at demonstrating its power. 

Iran has unveiled a new ballistic missile called Etemad, with a range of 1,700 km. It has a guided warhead that stays on course until it reaches its target. 

The previous Saturday, Iran unveiled a cruise missile called the Ghadr-380, which has a range of 1,000 km and is equipped with electronic countermeasures.

On the same day, a new underground naval base was revealed somewhere in southern Iran, while two weeks earlier the existence of another similar facility had been announced. 

Also read: Iran | Test Launch of AI-Driven Missiles