Unveiling new missile system, Rouhani says Iran's enemies 'do not accept logic'
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country's enemies do not "accept logic" as he unveiled a new domestically built long-range surface-to-air missile system similar to the Russian S-300.
During a ceremony in Tehran, Rouhani unveiled the mobile Bavar-373 system on state television to mark the country's National Defence Industry Day, Reuters news agency reported.
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"Now that our enemies do not accept logic, we cannot respond with logic," Rouhani said in a televised speech.
He added that Iran needed the system for its own defence, sarcastically pointing out that "when the enemy launches a missile against us, we cannot give a speech" asking him to "self-destroy the missile in the air".
It is unclear how many of the missile systems have been manufactured in Iran, or if the country had outside help in developing the programme.
Defence Minister Amir Hatami said the new long-range system can destroy targets 125 miles away, Reuters reported.
The Iranian government-affiliated Press TV posted a tweet featuring a video of what it said was the new missile defence system.
Iran shot down a US military surveillance drone over the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile in June. Tehran said the drone was over Iranian territory, but Washington insisted that the unmanned plane was over international waters when it was targeted.
Revealing the new missile defence system comes at a time of high tensions between Iran and the United States, following the drone incident and other attacks in the Gulf that Washington has blamed on Tehran.
Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes, but the restrictions have barred it from importing many weapons, Reuters reported.
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