By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

Recent reports from our eastern neighbours speak of the test-firing of the ever-increasing range and precision of their ballistic and cruise missiles, which neither raised the eyebrows of politicians the West nor made headlines in the western media, unlike their reactions whenever the Islamic Republic of Iran upgrades its missile defence system.
Pakistan, which is perpetually embroiled in an arms race with its Subcontinent rival, India, said it has successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface "Shaheen III” ballistic missile with a range of 2,750km.
For its part, India, which has border tensions with China, has started a flurry of tests of supersonic cruise missiles, such as the "BrahMos”, and with the support of the US is developing the long range "Agni V” ballistic missile (reportedly 5,000 km) that brings important Chinese cities within its reach.
Pakistan and India are among the eight nations of the world with stated nuclear weapons capability. The two countries are not members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and moreover their nuclear weapons-manufacturing facilities, like that of the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the illegal Zionist entity, are not under supervision of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In contrast, NPT member Iran, whose peaceful nuclear project is wholly for civilian purposes and under round-the-clock IAEA cameras, is not in rivalry with any of its neighbours, and as per the dynamic laws of Islam, considers it "haram” (religiously forbidden) the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction – whether nuclear, chemical, or biological.
In accordance with international laws, however, the Islamic Republic, which for the past 42 years has been the target of the hegemonic designs of the US and went through the bitter experience of the 8-year devastating war imposed in the 1980s by Washington through Saddam of the now defunct repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, has every right to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity through effective conventional means of defence.
As per this inalienable right, Iran has developed an impressive system of ballistic missiles and other sophisticated armaments that give second thoughts to any would-be invader.
The question that arises is: Why has Iran limited the range of its "Shehab III” "Qadr-110”, "Sijjil”, "Emad”, "Khorramshahr”, "Ashura” and other missiles (including the cruise "Mishkat”) to under a mere 3,000 km, when its avowed enemy, the US, has hypersonic nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missiles of 13,000 km rang (e.g. "LGM-30 Minuteman)?
The Islamic Republic abhors wars, but at the same time for the sake of peace and stability, it has to be fully prepared to deter any satanic design by its cowardl archenemy, which resorts to terrorists and terroristic regimes with no roots and legitimacy in the region, for threatening Iran.
A point to note is that the US, despite its sabre rattling fears retaliation and for this reason insists that independent countries ought not to develop sophisticate means of defence, including missile and drone technology.
The reason the US desists from any foolish military action against North Korea is the range of Pyongyang’s nuclear capable missiles, such as the KN08 (range 12,000 km), which can target any city in North America.
In view of these facts, there is no question of any talks on Iran’s means of defence, and on the contrary the Islamic Republic should strive to increase the range and precision of its projectiles by relying on not just supersonic speed but hypersonic in order to guarantee regional security.