Tehran( Parliament Politics Magazine) — Iran unveiled two new air defense systems on Saturday, according to state media, as tensions in the Middle East remain high due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“The Arman anti-ballistic missile system and the Azarakhsh low-altitude air defense system, developed by the Ministry of Defense, were unveiled this morning,” reported the official IRNA news agency.
The unveiling comes at a time of heightened regional tensions, with the war between Israel and Tehran-backed Hamas now in its fifth month. Even before this conflict, Israel and Iran were longstanding adversaries, with Israel strongly opposing Tehran’s nuclear program.
In 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a “credible military threat” against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran, however, insists its nuclear program is peaceful and denies any intention of developing a nuclear bomb.
During the unveiling ceremony, Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani stated that the Arman missile system has a medium range and high altitude, capable of identifying targets at 180 kilometers (111.9 miles) and engaging them at 120 kilometers (75 miles). The system can reportedly engage six targets simultaneously. The Azarakhsh defense system, which can be mounted on various vehicles, uses radar, an electro-optical system, and thermal seekers to detect and track its targets.
Iran’s support for Hamas was highlighted following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, though Tehran has denied direct involvement. Meanwhile, Tehran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have increasingly targeted U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.
One such attack on a base in Jordan resulted in the deaths of three U.S. military personnel on January 28, prompting Washington to launch retaliatory strikes against pro-Iran targets in Syria and Iraq.
The United States and Britain also conducted repeated strikes against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in response to the group’s persistent attacks on commercial shipping. The Houthis have claimed that their attacks in the Red Sea are acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.