Iran’s Ground Force has test-fired new mid-range ballistic missiles, Commander of the Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said.

“A series of new missiles have been designed to be built by the Army's Ground Force,” Pourdastan told FNA.

“The laboratory production of these missiles has started and one or two samples have been test-fired,” he added.

Pourdastan said that the new missiles have higher range and quality compared with Naze'at-10 medium-range ballistic missiles.

Noting that the Ground Force is building the missiles in cooperation with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Aerospace Force, he said that the new missiles will be unveiled and used in the form of a new class of missiles.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

In relevant remarks in April, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced that his Ministry plans to design and build more state-of-the-art surface-to-surface missile systems in the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2014).

“The year 1393 (March 2014-March 2015) is a year for the production of tools and equipment that enhance the Islamic Iran's defense prowess and the Defense Ministry has seriously concentrated on the production of these equipment,” Brigadier General Dehqan told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony held to commemorate the “International Mine Awareness Day” in Tehran.

He underlined that production of powerful surface-to-surface missile systems, efficient and powerful air defense systems and naval equipment are among the plans of the Iranian Defense Ministry for the current year.

Source: FNA