Iran tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Sunday in defiance of a United Nations ban, signalling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal. The Islamic Republic has one of the largest missile programmes in the Middle East, but its potential effectiveness has been limited by poor accuracy.
State television showed what appeared to be a successful launch of the new missile, named Emad, which will be Iran's first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional arch-enemy Israel.
"The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them ... This greatly increases Iran's strategic deterrence capability," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a televised news conference.
"We don't ask permission from anyone to strengthen our defence and missile capabilities," Dehghan said.
"Our leadership and armed forces are determined to increase our power and this is to promote peace and stability in the region. There is no intention of aggression or threats in this action," he added.
The Fateh-313 has solid fuel, allowing it to be set up and launched faster than liquid-fuelled missiles, and a range of 500 km - enough to hit targets in Gulf Arab powers locked in a regional cold war with the Islamic Republic, but not Israel.
Improvements in accuracy could let Iran use its missiles in a wider variety of roles, for example by targeting military bases or economic assets rather than population centres. The IISS noted in 2010 that poor accuracy meant Iran could use its missiles only as a "political weapon" to target enemy cities since their military utility was "severely limited".
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