General Claims Hypersonic Missile Developed; Russia Ties Under Microscope

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) aerospace unit General Amirali Hajizadeh has claimed that the country has developed hypersonic missile capabilities. Hypersonic missiles can deliver nuclear payloads like conventional ballistic missiles, but travel at five times the speed of sound and are seen as a way to breach missile defence systems.

• The announcement comes as international scrutiny of Terhan's military ties with Russia comes under greater scrutiny. Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev visited the Iranian capital on 9 November for talks with President Ebrahim Raisi. Russian Embassy in Iran stated that the two, "...discussed various issues of Russian-Iranian cooperation in the field of security, as well as a number of international problems."
• Iranian-Russian relations one of the major security focus points for the West at present. US, EU and Ukraine concerned about flow of surface-to-surface missiles and drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Incoming Netanyahu gov't in Israel likely to prove very hawkish on hypersonic missile news and increased Russian support for Tehran.
• Chances of any agreement being reached on the Iran nuclear deal is as distant a prospect as it has been in many years.