Iran successfully fires cruise missile from submarine
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday the West has turned the Middle East into a “powder keg” with its arms sales to the Arab countries of the region, stressing that the weapons supplies have not contributed to regional security.
“Over the past year alone, they [Western countries] sold 100 billion dollars’ worth of weapons to the [countries] of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. Did the weapons bring anyone security, though?” Zarif said in a foreign policy speech at the University of Tehran, Press TV reported.
The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier, an annual international security report showed that arms sales to the Middle East had doubled during the period between 2013 and 2017 compared to the previous five years. The Munich Security Report 2019 also said the outsize concentration of weapons in the Middle East increased the risk of confrontation in the region.
‘End of interference’
Zarif said Revolution ended historical foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs.
“One of the Iranian people’s major concerns prior to the victory of the Islamic Revolution — which can be referred to as a historical concern — was foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs,” he said.
The foreign minister said such interference was exercised largely during the rule of the Qajar dynasty and the Pahlavi regime in Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution, he said, ended that trend. Iran successfully tested a cruise missile fired from a submarine for the first time on Sunday during naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s official news agency reported.
“On the third day of the ... exercises, a Ghadir-class Iranian navy submarine successfully launched a cruise missile,” IRNA wrote.
Local media released an image showing a green submarine on the surface of the water launching an orange missile.
It was the first time the missile was being fired at a mock target from the depth of the sea.
The launch of the cruise missile cannot be detected by enemy forces whereas there is a likelihood for the launcher submarines to be detected when firing torpedoes, which also have a comparatively shorter range, the report said.
Iran’s other submarines, the Tareq and the new domesticallybuilt Fateh (Conqueror) have the same anti-ship capability, a military statement said.
More than 100 vessels were taking part in the ongoing maneuvers in a vast area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean.
The Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is a crucial bottleneck for global energy supplies, with about a third of all oil traded by sea passing through it.
Submarines, warships, helicopters and surveillance planes participated in the three-day drill, dubbed “Velayat 97,” which concluded Sunday. On Saturday, Iran launched surface-to-surface missiles.
Tensions have risen since the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal with world powers last year and restored wideranging sanctions.
In recent years, Iran’s Navy has attained self-sufficiency in producing defense equipment and increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.
It has foiled several attacks on both Iranian and foreign tankers during its missions in international waters.
Iran has repeatedly warned that any act of transgression into Iran’s territorial waters would be met with an immediate and befitting response.
Reuters, AP and Press TV contributed to this story.