Iran on Tuesday (Feb 13) said that it has launched long-range ballistic missiles from a warship for the first time. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the launch was from the Shahid Mahdavi, which is Iran’s multi-purpose heavy warship. 

It said that the launch during naval man oeuvres involved firing two ballistic missiles capable of striking targets up to 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) away. 

“The IRGC for the first time has fired ballistic missiles in the Gulf of Oman,” state television reported. 

“The firing of a long-range ballistic missile from the warship was successfully carried out,” IRGC chief Hossein Salami said. 

Simulated attack on Israel’s airbase

Iranian state television said that separately, in central Iran, the IRGC simulated a surface-to-surface ballistic missile attack on Israel’s Palmachim airbase south of Tel Aviv. 

It said Palmachim was the “main base for F-35 fighter jets” in Israel. 

The Iranian military exercises come amid escalating regional tensions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.  

The Islamic Republic does not recognise Israel and has long fought a shadow war of killings and sabotage against it. 

Tehran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.