Iran has debuted a domestically built long-range missile system.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech in Tehran on August 22 during the unveiling of the mobile air-to-surface Bavar-373 missile system that since Iran’s “enemies don’t accept logic, we cannot respond with logic”.

"When the enemy launches a missile against us, we cannot give a speech and say: 'Mr Rocket, please do not hit our country and our innocent people. Rocket-launching sir, if you can please hit a button and self-destruct the missile in mid-air,'" he added.

Tehran remains defiant in the face of the US “economic war and terrorism” that many observers worry could spiral into a military confrontation.

The country’s leadership is sticking to its position that talks with US President Donald Trump would not even be considered unless Washington drops the sanctions it is using in an attempt at throttling the Iranian economy to force concessions from Tehran on its military capabilities and geopolitical roles in the Middle East.

The Bavar-373 system is seen by some military analysts as a rival to the Russian S-300 missile system. Its unveiling occurred on Iran's National Defence Industry Day.

Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami told state television that the system can detect targets more than 300 kilometres away and destroy them at 200 kilometres.

Iran shot down a sophisticated US military surveillance drone in the Persian Gulf with a surface-to-air missile in June. It said the drone entered its territory, while the US claimed it was in international airspace.

Tehran insists that it does not seek confrontation with Washington and that US moves against it are a form of bullying. "Will there be a war in the… Gulf? I can tell you that we will not start the war… but we will defend ourselves," Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on August 22 at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.