Iran unveils what it calls a hypersonic missile able to beat air defenses amid tensions with US

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran is claiming that it’s created a hypersonic missile capable of traveling at 15 times the speed of sound. The announcement comes as tensions are high with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran’s state television reported that the missile — called Fattah, or “Conqueror” — has a range of up to 1,400 kilometers, which is about 870 miles. The report also claimed it could pass through any regional missile defense system, though it offered no evidence to support the claim. The TV broadcast what appeared to be a model of the missile being unveiled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary organization in the Islamic Republic, before President Ebrahim Raisi.