Iran Tests Home-Made Air Defence System

Iran on Wednesday tested home-made air defence systems during military exercises, state media said, days after the expiry of an international arms embargo against the Islamic republic.

The manoeuvres—dubbed "Defenders of the Sky"—took place in "an area covering half of the country's surface", state television's Iribnews website reported.

They came after Tehran ruled on Sunday that a UN arms embargo on its weapons had expired under the terms of the international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Iran on Monday said it was more inclined to sell weapons rather than buy them, after announcing the end of the longstanding embargo.

"In these exercises, the new generation systems of the army and Revolutionary Guard have shown their strength by relying on the power" of local production, said Iribnews.

The website said targets at medium and high altitudes were shot down by Iran's Khordad 3 and Khordad 15 air defence systems and that fighter jets took part in the manoeuvres.

"Our forces have achieved all the objectives set," General Qader Rahimzadeh, who is commanding the exercises, told state television.

The lifting of the arms embargo allows Iran to buy and sell military equipment including tanks, armoured vehicles, combat aircraft, helicopters and heavy artillery.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that his country did not intend to engage in an "arms race in the region.”

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Launches 'Cruise Missile Capable' Submarine

Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US.

The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said.

"Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country," he added.

Named the Fateh (Farsi for 'Conqueror'), Fars news agency said the new submarine is Iran's first in the semi-heavy category, filling a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo class submarines that the country possesses.

Fars said the near 600-tonne underwater vessel is equipped with torpedoes and naval mines in addition to cruise missiles, and can operate more than 200 metres below sea level for up to 35 days.

The US withdrew from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and re-imposed biting unilateral sanctions later last year.  

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on February 7 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), according to the elite unit's official media agency Sepah News.

The surface-to-surface missile—called Dezful—is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said.

Rouhani said on Sunday that "pressure by enemies, the (Iran-Iraq) war and sanctions" were incentives for Tehran to be self-reliant in its defense industry.

"Maybe we would not have this motivation to industrialize our defense sector," he said, if Iran could just buy the weaponry it needed.

Iran's top military brass and cabinet ministers attended the ceremony.

Photo Credit: IRNA