TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran on Sunday unveiled its domestically-built answer to the Russian S-300 advanced air defense system in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani.
Iranian news agencies ran photos of Rouhani at a Defense Ministry exhibition which included the showcasing of the Bavar-373 air defense system, which would make any effort to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities more difficult.
Iran's deal to import Russia's S-300 was put on hold amid sanctions in 2010, prompting the Islamic Republic to develop its own missile defense system.
Since last year's signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal which saw western nations provide Tehran with sanctions relief in exchange for placing limits on its nuclear program, parts of the S-300 have reportedly been delivered.
The occupying regime of Israel and the U.S. have protested Russia's sale of the S-300 to Iran.
The Bavar-373 was successfully test fired in August 2014 and is designed to hit targets at high altitudes.
Rouhani, accompanied by Iranian Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Hussein Dehqan, was also briefed on the progress of manufacturing for Iran's first turbojet engine, as well as other air defense projects.
The Iranian president praised the Defense Ministry for helping to disprove "unfair and baseless" allegations that Iran seeks to build weapons of mass destruction, adding that this was an integral part of closing the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of world powers.
Rouhani said that Iran's military budget had more than doubled compared with last year.
"If we are able to discuss with world powers around the negotiating table, it is because of our national strength, because of our national unity," he said.
Rouhani also unveiled the first Iranian-made turbo-jet engine, saying it was capable of flight at 50,000 feet.
"The Islamic Republic is one of eight countries in the world who have mastered the technology to build these engines," the president said.
Dehqan said Iran was now looking to develop seaborne cruise missiles capable of supersonic speed.
"We have greatly increased the range of our marine cruise missiles and currently possess missiles with a range of 200 kilometers which are anti-ship and anti-surface,” he said.
He added that the country has succeeded in taking major steps in the development of marine cruise missiles and has doubled or even tripled the range of all its missiles and made efforts to diversify their applications.
"We have succeeded in changing the strategic systems of cruise missiles and increasing the power of their engines and ranges,” Dehqan said, adding that the missiles can now hit the targets at a distance of 100 kilometers.
"We did not intend to make an Iranian version of the S-300 -- we wanted to build an Iranian system, and we built it," Dehqan told the IRNA news agency over the weekend.
In an earlier speech at Friday prayers, he said: "Our missile power is at such a level that we are able to destroy all our targets at any operational range."
Elsewhere in his remarks on Sunday, the Iranian defense minister stated that the country has taken great strides in producing torpedoes, noting that the first consignment of home-made torpedoes would be delivered to the naval forces in the current Iranian calendar year (ending March 20, 2017) in a bid to boost their power in confrontation with any possible threat.
He added that Iran has produced high-speed vessels proportionate to its needs and put into operation a vessel which is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 60 knots.
Iranian experts are also capable of manufacturing various strategic products in electronics industries, which can be used in air defense bases of the Army and other units of the Iranian Armed Forces, Dehqan said.