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Iran threatens to destroy Israeli cities during military parade

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During a massive display of military hardware yesterday, Iran threatened to turn two Israeli cities “into dust”.

Iran was marking the anniversary of the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, with a series of military parades, which showcased missiles, tanks and other weaponry, including the Russian-made S-300 advanced anti-aircraft missile system.

At the largest event in the capital Tehran, Iran displayed the new Zolfaghar missile on a truck carrying a banner that read: “If the leaders of the Zionist regime make one false move, the Islamic republic will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa into dust.”

Commander of the air wing of the elite Revolutionary Guards, General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh, has claimed that the missile, which carries multiple warheads, has a range of 466 miles.

In May, Iran claimed it had tested a precision-guided ballistic missile with the capability of reaching Israel. Two months earlier, Iran tested medium-range Qiam-1 missiles marked with the words “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew.

Also at yesterday’s parade, General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, referred to the new ten-year US military aid agreement signed with Israel last week, which is worth around £29bn.

He said: “The recent decision of the American criminals to give military aid to the usurper Zionist regime [Israel], reinforces our determination to increase our defence capabilities.”

Bagheri added that “the ultimate objective of the United States, the Zionist regime and those who support terrorist groups… is to destroy the infrastructure of Syria and Iraq in favour” of Israel.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Theresa May met with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly.

They apparently discussed the relationship between the two countries in the wake of last year’s nuclear deal.

Last month, the UK and Iran appointed ambassadors for the first time since the UK Embassy in Tehran was closed after being ransacked by a local mob in 2011.