Iran unveiled an upgraded attack drone at a major military parade in Tehran on Saturday.
The Shahed-136B drone has new features and an operational range of more than 2,500 miles, almost double that of its predecessors, Iran’s IRNA news agency said.
Older Shahed 131 and Shahed 136 drones have been used extensively by Russia to attack infrastructure targets in Ukraine, and have reported ranges of 600 miles and 1,600 miles respectively.
The drones are unmanned “kamikaze” weapons that can be fitted with a warhead of up to 50kg.
Typically launched in swarms, they are flown into targets where they detonate on impact.
A new “Jihad” ballistic missile was also revealed by the Iranian military at Saturday’s parade.
Iranian state media said it runs on solid fuel and was made by the aerospace wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It reportedly has an operational range of more than 600 miles.
‘Sacred defence week’
The parade was held in commemoration of the 44th anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war as part of an annual event series called “sacred defence week”.
Pictures showed large formations of troops, armoured vehicles, missiles and other weaponry parading past the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the new Iranian president, attended the parade and reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment to opposing Israel.
“Today, our defensive and deterrent capabilities have grown so much that no demon even thinks about any aggression towards our dear Iran,” he said.
“With unity and cohesion among Islamic countries… we can put in its place the bloodthirsty, genocidal usurper Israel, which shows no mercy to anyone, women or children, old or young,” he added.
Britain, France, Germany and the United States announced new sanctions on Iran earlier this month, alleging that it had been providing ballistic missiles for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of providing Russia with drones and missiles, a charge that Tehran denies.
Iran used hundreds of Shahed drones and ballistic missiles to attack Israel on April 13, in what it said was retaliation for an Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria.
