TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Thursday unveiled what it called a home-made defense system of long-range surface-to-air missiles at a time of heightened tension with the United States.
Iran shot down a US drone in the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile in June. It says the plane was on its territory, but the United States says it was in international airspace.
Iranian television showed President Hassan Rouhani attending a ceremony to unveil the mobile power system, which Iranian media described as a competitor to Russia's S-300 missile system.
"Through this long-range air defense system, we can detect targets or planes more than 300 kilometers away, aim our missiles at a distance of about 250 kilometers and destroy them at 200 kilometers," Defense Minister Amir Hatami told state television.
The unveiling of the system comes on Iran's National Defense Industry Day. Tehran has developed a major defense industry in the face of international sanctions banning it from importing many weapons.
Western military experts say Iran is exaggerating its weapons capabilities, but concerns about its long-range ballistic missile program contributed to Washington's withdrawal last year from a 2015 deal with world powers to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for easing economic sanctions.
Letters to America and the region
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that if Washington wanted to stabilize the region, it should follow a logical policy and lift sanctions against Iran, he said.
`` We tell the Americans the path you have chosen is wrong and not in your interest or for any other party, '' he said.
Rouhani said in a ceremony to unveil the new defense system that his country is ready for dialogue and understanding with neighboring countries, and that this will be in the interest of the region.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that Tehran was ready to work on French proposals to save the international nuclear deal signed by Iran with world powers in 2015.
"There are proposals on the table from the French and Iranian sides and we will work on these proposals tomorrow," he said at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday offered either to ease sanctions on Iran or provide a "compensation mechanism to enable the Iranian people to live better"; in return for full compliance with the agreement, which the United States withdrew last year.