Iranian Navy receives new high-explosive missiles

(Patria) - Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced on Friday that its navy has new cruise missiles
equipped with undetectable high-explosive warheads, state media reported.

The announcement coincides with fears of a full-blown Middle East war after Iran vowed revenge for the July 31 assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas.

Iran has blamed Israel, while Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement, Reuters reported.

"In today's world, you either have to be powerful to survive, or surrender. There is no middle ground," said the Guard's chief commander, Major General Hossein Salami.

"A large number of cruise missiles have been added to the Guard's naval fleet. These new missiles have the capability of undetectable high-explosive warheads and can cause great damage and sink their targets," the Guard said in a statement. The Guard's navy also stated in the statement that various types of long and medium-range missile systems, as well as reconnaissance drones and naval radars, have been added to its fleet.

"These systems are among the most advanced anti-surface and subsurface weapons in the Guard's navy," it stated.

State television showed several pieces of weaponry on Friday. The navy added that only 210 out of 2,654 systems were displayed because strategic ones could not be revealed for security reasons.

Iran has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, considering such weapons an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the US and Israel in case of war.

According to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the region.