Iran has developed 1,650-km range cruise missile

Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km (1,025 miles) a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Friday, in a move likely to raise Western concerns after Russia's use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war.Separately, Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, also spoke of Iran's often repeated threat to avenge the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander, saying "We are looking to kill (former U.S. President Donald) Trump." Hajizadeh said Iran did not intend to kill "poor soldiers" when it launched a ballistic missile attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq days after Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020 in Baghdad.

Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran's IRGC Aerospace, said in a televised interview on Friday night that "Inshallah (God willing) we will be able to kill Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, (former @CENTCOM chief Kenneth) McKenzie, and others who ordered killing of Qasem Soleimani." pic.twitter.com/Djqeb5byfA

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) February 24, 2023

Iran has expanded its missile programme, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries. Tehran says the programme is purely defensive and of a deterrent nature. Iran has said it had supplied Moscow with drones before the war in Ukraine. Russia has used the drones to target power stations and civilian infrastructure.