Iran’s president denies sending missiles to Houthis
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied sending hypersonic ballistic missile technology to Yemen’s Houthis while condemning Israel for the war on Gaza. “The missile they launched [at Israel], we don’t even have that in Iran,” Pezeshkian said during his first news conference since becoming president at the end of July.
On Sunday, the Houthis fired what they said was a hypersonic ballistic missile that hit central Israel. When reminded that Iran has variants of hypersonic ballistic missiles, he clarified that “we don’t have that kind.”
“But we are coordinated. We help each other, and we have a shared view against Israel, which is committing genocide and killing women, children, the elderly and the youth. The world is watching as genocide is unfolding, and no one is stopping it.”
Houthis release footage of hypersonic missile launched at Israel
The Yemeni group has published a video of the missile – dubbed Palestine 2 – which it said was launched towards Israel.
A Houthi missile had reached central Israel for the first time on Sunday.
The projectile that was shown in today’s footage had a keffiyeh-patterned tip and was decorated with Palestinian flags. The video showed it being launched from a deserted area. The Houthis said the missile has a 2,150km (1,335-mile) range and can manoeuvre to evade air defences.
The failure to intercept Sunday’s missile, which had travelled thousands of miles from Yemen and crossed deep into Israeli territory, was seen as a major breach in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to inflict a “heavy price” on the Houthis over the attack.
مشاهد إطلاق الصاروخ الباليستي الفرط صوتي "فلسطين2" على هدف عسكري في يافا المحتلة "تل أبيب" مع مواصفاته 2024/09/15م pic.twitter.com/hAvQEYiyAs
— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) September 16, 2024
Translation: “Footage of the launch of the hypersonic ballistic missile ‘Palestine 2’ against a military target in occupied Jaffa ‘Tel Aviv’ with its characteristics.”
