Iran unveils hypersonic missile amid US tensions that can beat air defences

Iran claimed on Tuesday that it had created a hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound.

The announcement comes as tensions remain high with the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Iran's state television reported that the missile called Fattah, or Conqueror in Farsi had a range of up to 1,400 kilometers (870 miles).

The report also claimed the missile could pass through any regional missile defense system, though it offered no evidence to support the claim.

The TV broadcast what appeared to be a model of the missile being unveiled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary organization in the Islamic Republic, before President Ebrahim Raisi. The Guard already has a vast arsenal of ballistic missiles.

In November, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh of the Revolutionary Guard claimed that Iran had created a hypersonic missile, without offering evidence to support it.

That claim came during the nationwide protests that followed the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's morality police.

Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.

China is believed to be pursuing the weapons, as is America. Russia claims to already be fielding the weapons and has said it used them on the battlefield in Ukraine.