IRGC Commander: Iran Has Drones With Range of 7,000 Km

In this photo released on May 21, 2021, by Sepahnews, the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a new Gaza drone is displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Sepahnews via AP)
In this photo released on May 21, 2021, by Sepahnews, the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a new Gaza drone is displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Sepahnews via AP)
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IRGC Commander: Iran Has Drones With Range of 7,000 Km

In this photo released on May 21, 2021, by Sepahnews, the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a new Gaza drone is displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Sepahnews via AP)
In this photo released on May 21, 2021, by Sepahnews, the website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a new Gaza drone is displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Sepahnews via AP)

Iran has drones with a range of 7,000 km, Iranian state media cited the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as saying on Sunday, a development which may be seen by Washington as a threat to regional stability.

Tehran's assertion comes as Iran and six major powers are in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that former US President Donald Trump exited three years ago and reimposed sanctions.

Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its capabilities, but drones are a key element in Tehran's border surveillance, especially the Gulf waters around the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply flows.

Iran and regional forces it backs have increasingly relied on drones in Yemen, Syria, Iraq in recent years.

"We have unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) with long range of 7,000 kilometers. They can fly, return home, and make landing wherever they are planned to," the Guards commander-in-chief Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

US President Joe Biden is seeking to revive and eventually broaden the nuclear pact to put greater limits on Iran's nuclear and missile programs, as well as constraining its activities.



Iran Summons Hungarian Ambassador, Condemns EU and UK Sanctions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Iran Summons Hungarian Ambassador, Condemns EU and UK Sanctions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

 Iran's foreign ministry summoned Hungary's ambassador on Tuesday to protest against new European Union sanctions on Tehran, and denied Western allegations that it has transferred ballistic missiles to Russia, Iranian state media reported.

The EU agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on seven people and seven organizations, including airline Iran Air, for alleged links to Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia. Britain, which is not in the EU, also imposed new sanctions.

Hungary's ambassador was summoned because Budapest holds the 27-nation EU's rotating presidency.

Last month, the United States, citing intelligence it said had been shared with allies, said Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied his country provided ballistic missiles to Russia, according to Reuters.

"Some European countries and the UK have unfortunately claimed without evidence that Iran has militarily intervened in this conflict which is totally refuted," Baghaei said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Baghaei condemned the fresh sanctions saying that imposing new sanctions by the European Union and the UK on Iranian individuals and entities goes against international law.

The sanctions would halt all flights by Iranian airlines to Europe, the Secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, Maqsoud Asadi Samani, told Iran's ILNA news agency.

The sanctions listings also include Saha Airlines and Mahan Air and Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari.

Also facing sanctions under the EU move are prominent officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and the managing directors of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries and Aerospace Industries Organization.

The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban to the European Union.