Iran hopes to avenge allied Iraqi commander killed by US with eponymous missile at sea

The “Abu Mahdi” missile, developed by the Iranian Defense Ministry, was handed over to the Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy during a ceremony on Tuesday.

During the ceremony, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri enumerated the features of the missile, including its long range and capability to track several targets simultaneously.

The missile, Tangsiri said, has a dual seeker, can be fired both from the shore and from vessels, and is capable of thwarting electronic warfare.

The missile is subject to foreign sanctions, he said, taking pride in the fact that Iran had domestically developed a missile that can turn around a target and hit it from behind.

“We hope that, with the blessings of the month of Muharram and of the martyr, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was martyred unfairly and innocently by the criminal America, we can retaliate that action against the enemies at sea,” Tangsiri said.

Al-Muhandis was killed in a US military strike that assassinated Iranian Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad in 2020.