Iran unveiled what it described as three new precision guided missiles on Tuesday as President Hassan Rouhani warned of the 'mother of all wars' if the US attacks.

Defence Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami said it proves Iran 'will not hesitate for a moment to defend [itself]' as he viewed the weapons in front of TV cameras.

It comes after President Hassan Rouhani warned the US of the 'mother of all wars' if tensions in the Gulf spill over into conflict.

Iran's defence ministry also unveiled an updated version of the heat-seeking Ghaem missile (bottom) that was accurate to within 50cm, military chiefs claimed

While stressing that Tehran is willing to negotiate over its nuclear programme, Rouhani said that America must drop all sanctions before the country will talk.
UK joins forces with US in Strait of Hormuz in snub to EU

The UK will join a US-led mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after a British-flagged tanker was seized by Iran, the Department of Defence has said.

The new policy marks a U-turn from an agreement with EU powers under Theresa May's government, in which the UK would put together a European force to do the job.

It in understood the decision came amid frustration that EU nations were not willing to commit ships to the region, where the US already has a considerable naval presence.

Of the three countries that signalled interest in the European plan - France, Italy and Denmark - only France has a force in the region, comprised of a single frigate.

He added that while peace with Iran will be 'the mother of all peace', 'war will be the mother of all wars.'

Among the new weapons unveiled by Tehran was a guided missile dubbed Yasin, which has folding wings and is designed to be fired from a drone.

Another newly-developed weapon was the Balaban, which Iran said could be fired from an aircraft before being guided to its target using GPS and other sensors.

Finally, the defence ministry unveiled an updated version of the heat-seeking Ghaem missile, which is also designed as an air-to-air weapon, the Fars news agency said.

Iran has been engaged in sabre-rattling with the US for months after the Trump administration walked away from a nuclear deal signed under predecessor Obama.

The UK then became a target of Tehran's ire after seizing an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar in what the regime described as 'economic terrorism' carried out on behalf of America.
It comes after Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused the UK of being complicit in US 'economic terrorism' after the pair joined forces in the Gulf

Britain had previously called for a European-led mission to protect shipping through the vulnerable bottleneck, which lies partly in Iranian territorial waters.

Around a fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait each day.

It is understood that the about-face came amid frustration over EU nations refusing to commit ships to the region.

The only ship from an EU country currently in the region is a French frigate, The Sun reports, and Germany has previously baulked at the idea of sending vessels there.

Italy, Denmark and France had indicated that they were willing to back Britain's task-force, but had yet to commit any resources.

The UK currently has two ships in the region - Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose and Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, which arrived a week ago.

The US has at least three ships currently inside the Persian Gulf, comprising the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group.

The group is led by the USS Boxer, which is supported by the USS John P Murtha - an amphibious transport dock - landing ship USS Harpers Ferry, and accompanying helicopter squadrons and thousands of embarked Marines.

Loitering outside the Persian Gulf itself is Carrier Strike Group 12, led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Accompanying the Lincoln is Destroyer Squadron 2 comprised of the USS Bainbridge, USS Mason and USS Nitze with support from the USS Leyte Gulf....