Iran successfully test fires Hoveizeh Cruise Missile

Iran announced the successful test flight of Hoveizeh long-range cruise missile on February second which marks the 40th anniversary of 1979 Islamic revolution.
The Hoveizeh Cruise Missile is part of the Soumar family of cruise missile and has a range of over 1,350 km (840 miles). It is designed to use against ground targets. The Hoveizeh missile needs a very short time for its preparedness and can fly at a low altitude and is manufactured by the Aerospace Industries Organization of Iran.

1979 Islamic Revolution

The democratically elected prime minister in Iran was thrown out and the Shah was restored to the throne with the help of American CIA. In the times of cold war, the US wanted to keep the Shah in power as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Iran was reaping enormous benefits from oil production and the gap was widening between the wealthy and the poor. The recession in 1975 led to tension between the classes.
In October 1977, the son of the Shia cleric Ayatollah Khomeini died of heart attack and the rumours spread that he had been murdered by the SAVAK secret police. Shah was battling for life due to cancer at the time. Shah had his Information Minister published an article in the leading newspaper that slandered Ayatollah Khomeini was a tool of British neo-colonial interests and a man without faith.
This angered people and the theology students in the city of Qom exploded in angry protests. To suppress the protests the shah came down heavily on the protestors and what followed as a massacre at Qom.
Further, there were series of protests across Iran against the misadventures of Shah and his administration which culminated in the revolution of 1979 where the monarch of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was overthrown and his government was replaced with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a leader of one of the factions in the revolt.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2019