Iran responds to Trump's UN remarks by unveiling long-range ballistic missile with multiple warheads

Iran on Friday (22 September) unveiled a long-range ballistic missile that can carry multiple warheads. This comes three days after the US President Donald Trump derided the theocratic nation in his speech at the UN General Assembly.

Iran was one of the key targets when Trump addressed the UN gathering on Tuesday, 19 September, putting the country among "rogue nations" acting as a destabilising force in the region. Since his speech, Trump has been receiving sharp responses from angered leaders not just from Iran but also from other nations.

To mark what is known as the Sacred Defence Week in Iran, the country kicked started massive military parades across the country on Friday, as a show of strength.

As part of the annual tradition, Iran has arranged military parades with the top leadership in attendance. The highlight of the parade was the indigenously made long-range missile, the which can carry multiple warheads.

Made for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and labelled as Khorramshahr, the weapon was put on display in the Tehran parade.

"The 2,000-km-range missile can carry the warhead 1,800km away. The specification of this missile is that it can carry several warheads instead of one to hit several targets," the IRGC's Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh told reporters.

"As it was observed, the missile has become smaller in size and more tactical and it will be operational in the near future," added the senior commander.

Several wings of Iran's armed forces and police units are showcasing their military might in the nationwide events attended by country's top leadership.

President Hassan Rouhani took part in the Tehran parade and did not hesitate to criticise the threats made by Trump. "We will promote our defensive and military power as much as we deem necessary. We seek no one's permission to defend our land."

"Our armed forces and defence power have always been for strengthening peace and we have never utilised our defensive power for conquering a land but solely defending our own motherland," added the Iranian president.