Iran tested a new long-range naval air defense missile, dubbed ‘Sayyad-3G’, during Revolutionary Guard Navy exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, amid rising tensions with the United States, Iranian media reported this Saturday.
The ‘Sayyad-3G’ was launched from the warship ‘Shahid Sayyad Shirazi’ in the naval exercises ‘Intelligent Control of the Strait of Hormuz’, carried out by the Guard Navy on Monday and Tuesday in the area, according to the Mehr agency.
READ: A war is more likely than an agreement between Iran and the US, analysts warn
According to Iranian authorities, the ‘Sayyad-3G’ has a range of up to 150 kilometers, allowing it to create an aerial “defensive perimeter” around the ship, and is capable of intercepting fighters, high-altitude drones, maritime patrol aircraft, support aircraft and certain cruise missiles.
The maneuvers were carried out in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in a context marked by increased tensions with the United States. and the resumption of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
According to Iranian media, the system uses vertical launchers (VLS), which “provides 360-degree coverage without the need to reorient weapons, reduces reaction time and allows consecutive shots against multiple attacks.”
This photo, published by the official website of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sepanews, on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket launch during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by SEPAH NEWS / AFP).
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The announcement of the missile test comes after US President Donald Trump warned on Friday that he is considering possible limited strikes against Iran to pressure it to seal a nuclear deal that Washington says should include limiting Iranian ballistic missiles, something Tehran rejects.
Trump spoke of a period of 10 to 15 days for the signing of an agreement, after two rounds of indirect negotiations under the mediation of Oman, held in Muscat and Geneva on February 6 and 17.
In the Geneva round of negotiations last Tuesday, Tehran announced that a consensus had been reached on “guiding principles” for an agreement, while Washington acknowledged progress, but stated that the Iranians “are not yet willing to recognize” red lines established by Trump.
Last night, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with the American network MSNBC that in the next two or three days he will present the draft of a possible agreement with the United States.
However, he warned that if the US uses “the language of force”, Iran will “reciprocate” in the same way.
US President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (AFP).
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Both CNN and The New York Times have published this week that the United States military is prepared to attack Iran imminently, pending presidential authorization.
The United States is carrying out its largest military deployment in the Middle East since the war launched against Iraq in 2003.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its battle group are already in Middle Eastern waters, while a second carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, is heading to the area.
The US already bombed Iran’s three main nuclear facilities last June, during the 12-day war between the Persian country and Israel.
