The US on Thursday (February 7th) vowed to remain "relentless" in pressuring Iran to deter its missile programme after the Islamic Republic unveiled a new ballistic weapon days after testing a cruise missile, AFP reported Friday.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday unveiled a new long-range ballistic missile, Sepah News reported.
The surface-to-surface missile, "Dezful", has a 1,000-kilometre range and is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model, aerospace commander Brig. Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh said.
The new weapon was revealed after Iran said Saturday it had successfully tested a new cruise missile, "Hoveizeh", with a 1,350-kilometre range.
The Thursday unveiling ceremony was carried out by IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari and Hajizadeh at an "underground ballistic missile production facility", the report said.
The move was Iran's latest show of military might as it celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution at a time of heightened tensions.
"Iran's blatant disregard for international norms must be addressed," US State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.
"We must bring back tougher international restrictions to deter Iran's missile programme," he added.
"The US will continue to be relentless in building support around the world to confront the Iranian regime's reckless ballistic missile activity," he said.
"We will continue to impose sufficient pressure on the regime so that it changes its malign behaviour -- including by fully implementing all of our sanctions."
