Bright Objects Spotted in Sky over Southern Iran Were US, Russian Missiles: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The mysterious bright objects that were seen in the sky over southern Iran were a US missile carrying a spy satellite and a Russian missile both of which were not in Iranian airspace, a top Iranian Air Defense commander said.
The bright lights seen tonight in the sky over some southern parts of the country were caused by “the missile of the second US spy satellite named ‘NROL_52’, launched from Florida,” Lieutenant Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base General Alireza Elhami explained late on Monday.
Concurrently, Russia had launched a missile that the Air Defense tracked at a very high altitude and with ultrasound speed in the skies over southern cities, he added.
General Elhami further said that although the missiles seemed to pass through Iran’s sky, their actual trajectory was out of the country’s airspace.
Back in September, the commander had said a similar bright light that streaked across the sky and was seen in many Iranian cities was a Russian ballistic missile.
The bright light that captured the attention of residents in a number of Iranian cities on September 26 was a Russian RS-12M ballistic missile launched from an area north of the Caspian Sea, General Elhami explained at the time.
The ballistic missile, with a range of 1,000 kilometers, landed in Sary Shagan, a missile testing range located in Kazakhstan, he added.
General Elhami also reassured the nation that the Air Defense is closely monitoring all movements in the country’s sky and is fully prepared to counter any threat.
