Tasnim – A bright light that streaked across the sky on Tuesday evening and was seen in many Iranian cities was a Russian ballistic missile, a top Iranian Air Defense commander said.

The bright light that captured the attention of residents in a number of Iranian cities on Tuesday evening was a Russian RS-12M ballistic missile launched from an area north of the Caspian Sea, Lieutenant Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base General Alireza Elhami explained on Wednesday.

The ballistic missile, with a range of 1,000 kilometers, landed in Sary Shagan, a missile testing range located in Kazakhstan, he added.

The commander noted that trajectory of the missile did not include the Iranian airspace, but the high altitude it reached and the launch time made it visible to the naked eye in the Iranian cities of Birjand, Tabas, Yazd, Arak, Tehran and Shiraz.

He said 119 flights were crossing the Iranian airspace at the time of the missile launch.

General Elhami reassured the nation that the Air Defense is closely monitoring all movements in the country’s sky and is fully prepared to counter any threat.