Emad (missile)

Emad missile Moment of Launch

Emad (Arabic: عماد, meaning "pillar") is an Iranian-designed, liquid-fuel, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a claimed range of 1,700 km and 750 kg payload. The missile was presented by Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan on 11 October 2015.^[1][2] Emad features a newly designed reentry vehicle with a more advanced guidance and control system, making it the country's first IRBM that is precision-guided.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

With an advanced guidance and control system in its nose cone, the missile's accuracy is reported to be around 500 meters.^[1][8][9] The missile, which appears to be another variant of the Shahab-3, will be delivered to the armed forces some time in 2016.

A team of U.N. sanctions monitors said in a confidential report seen by Reuters on Dec. 15 that a medium-range Emad rocket that Iran tested on Oct. 10 was a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.^[10]

As a consequence of Iran's nuclear deal (JCPOA), on 20 July 2015, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 was endorsed,^[11] replacing the Resolution 1929. The new Resolution "called upon" Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons".^[12] It has been argued that the language is not a legal prohibition.^[13] The U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, said that the Emad missile was inherently capable of delivering a nuclear warhead which is therefore a violation. However, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN disputed this interpretation - stating that: "a call is different from a ban, so legally you cannot violate a call, you can comply with a call or you can ignore the call, but you cannot violate a call".^[14] Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, responded by saying that since Iran does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it ever intends in having one, it does not design its missiles (Emad) to be capable of carrying something it does not have.^[15] Nevertheless, the testing of the Emad missile took place before the adoption of the Resolution 2231. The US, France, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and Australia asked the UN Security Council to investigate and take appropriate action.^[16]

See also

• List of military equipment manufactured in Iran
• Iranian underground missile bases
• Valfajr (torpedo)
• Ghamar (3D radar)
• Fateh-313
• Eghtedar-e Velayat (war game)

References

1. "Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile". Reuters. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
2. "Iran Emad missile test". www.kspr.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
3. "The latest intermediate-range ballistic missiles Iran called "Emad" was tested". farsnews.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
4. "Successful test of the Emad missile". www.seratnews.ir. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
5. "Pictures of launching moment of ballistic missile, Emad". www.tasnimnews.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
6. "The intermediate-range ballistic missiles was tested in Iran". www.tasnimnews.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
7. "Emad ballistic missile, Iran's first maneuverable re-entry vehicle (MARV) equipped with SATNAV to evade enemy's anti missile systems and drastically improve accuracy. The 3rd generation of Iranian liquid-propelled Strategic MRBMs, after Shahab and Ghadr series.". www.irna.ir. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
8. "Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile". Reuters. Oct 11, 2015.
9. Hume, Tim. "ran test-fires new generation long-range ballistic missiles, state media reports". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
10. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-sanctions-idUSKBN0UD1TD20151230
11. "UN Documents for Iran". www.securitycouncilreport.org. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
12. United Nations Security Council (20 July 2015). "Resolution 2231" (PDF). UN Security Council Online Archives - 7488th meeting. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
13. "U.S. Looks to Sidestep U.N. on New Iran Sanctions". US News & World Report. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
14. "U.S. vows to push for U.N. action on Iran despite Russian opposition". Reuters. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
15. ANU TV (2016-03-15), Resolving crisis in the Middle East: an Iranian perspective, retrieved 2016-05-18
16. AP - United Nations (22 October 2015). "US, France ask UN to take action against Iran". The Statesman (Daily newspaper). The Statesman Ltd. OCLC 1772961. Retrieved 18 May 2016.