Iran nears deal to buy Chinese supersonic anti-ship missiles - Reuters
Iran is close to a deal to buy supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles from China, six people familiar with the talks told Reuters, as the United States deploys naval forces near Iran ahead of possible strikes.
The deal for Chinese-made CM-302 missiles is near completion, the sources said, though no delivery date has been set. The missiles have a range of about 290 km and are designed to fly low and fast to evade ship defenses, which experts say would strengthen Iran’s strike capability and pose a threat to US naval forces in the region.
Talks that began at least two years ago sped up after last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the sources said, adding that senior Iranian military and government officials traveled to China as negotiations advanced. Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran has military and security agreements with its allies and that now is an appropriate time to use them.
