Iran has begun mass production of an anti-ship cruise missile, state television's website said.

The Zafar missile, as it is dubbed in the report, “is a short-range, anti-ship cruise missile capable of destroying small and medium sized targets with high precision”.


It can be mounted on speedboats and other light vessels, can withstand electronic warfare, and is able to fly in low altitudes to avoid detection, the report said.

Iran has a fleet of speedboats that often challenge US and allied warships in the Gulf.

The vessels are usually controlled by the elite Revolutionary Guards and can be equipped with missiles.

Tehran says it has a wide range of missiles. It says some are capable of striking targets inside Israel as well as Middle Eastern military bases of its other main arch foe, the US.

Tehran regularly boasts about developing missiles having substantial range and capabilities, but Western military experts cast doubt on its claims.

Meanwhile, Iranian naval ships docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on a mission to project the country’s “power on the open seas”, the Fars news agency reported.

The supply ship Kharg and Shaid Qandi, a destroyer, docked in the Red Sea port in line with orders from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it quoted Navy Commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari as saying.

“This mission aims to show the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the open seas and to confront Iranophobia,” he said, adding that the mission started several days ago and would last 70 to 80 days.

The Commander did not give other destinations.

 

Source: Gulf Times; Fars