TEHRAN

Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi on Thursday said his country had developed a missile-defense system “superior” to Russia’s S-300 air-defense system.

“Military force isn’t enough to guarantee [regional] influence and independence,” Iran’s official Tasnim news agency quoted Salehi as saying.

“An effective, secure deterrent is the most important asset," he added.

Salehi made the remarks only days after Tehran tested the Russian-made S-300 to evaluate its performance, especially its ability to monitor destroyed targets and intercept ballistic missiles.

"We have developed our own missile system that is better than the S-300,” he asserted. “And we will build more in the future.”

However, he refrained from providing additional details about the domestically-manufactured missile-defense system, including when it became operational.

Iran first received the S-300 missile system from Moscow in mid-2015, provoking the ire of the U.S.

A long-range air-defense system, the S-300 has the ability to target advanced fighter jets and ballistic missiles.