Iran unveils two new missiles as UN fails to extend expiring arms embargo

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Iran announced Thursday that is has unveiled two new missiles, each of which has been named after a senior military official killed in US drone strikes this year, Fox News reports. The announcement follows a United Nations Security Council vote in which only the Dominican Republican backed a US request to extend an arms embargo on Iran which expires in October; the embargo will therefore not be extended.

Celebrating its National Defense Industry Day, Iran made its missiles announcement on state TV. The first weapon is a new 870-mile range missile called the “Martyr Hajj Qassem,” after Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The second is a 620-mile range naval cruise missile called the “Martyr Abu Mahdi,” after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi militia leader close to Iran. Both namesakes were killed in the same US drone strike in January.

According to Reuters, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said about the unveiling: “Missiles and particularly cruise missiles are very important for us. The fact that we have increased the range from 300 to 1,000 in less than two years is a great achievement.”

Rouhani reportedly added that the missiles are for defense purposes.

As the arms embargo will not be extended, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked the United Nations Thursday to restore sanctions on Iran that were in place prior to the Iran deal negotiated during the Obama era. This policy is known as a “snap back” and was provided for in the Iran deal. Now that the US has pulled out of the deal, the UN has to decide whether to grant Pompeo’s request.

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