Iran creates new types of arms?

Why do countries need armed forces? First of all, to defend their citizens from potential aggression from outside. It is only natural that every country seeks to improve its army by creating new weapons. Why then military development of Iran causes such great interest of the global community? Why is the entire world (especially the U.S.) so closely following their military developments?

As reported by the Iranian news agency Mehr, Iran has created its own unmanned aircraft. This is the latest development of modern technologies: the aircraft takes off vertically and is very quiet. This UAV has no analogues in the world and, as noted by the head of the development team of the project Abbas Jam, it does not require a ramp to take off.

The prototype was tested on November 3, 2012 in the presence of the high command of Iran. Comprehensive tests of the new aircraft are scheduled for next year. This high technology achievement will be shown to the public in early 2013 to commemorate the 34^th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

Earlier, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran had drones created with the latest technologies. According to him, Iran's military have photographs of secret sites in Israel made by a drone launched from Lebanon.

According to independent experts, such a device has been created only because the air defense forces of the Islamic Republic hit a U.S. drone "Sentinel" last year. Experts believe that the Iranian developers created their own military equipment using "Sentinel." In December of last year, Iranian media reported that the military in the east of the country hit a U.S. drone RQ-170. The crashed drone was even shown live on television. Washington demanded the return of the UAV, but Tehran declined the request. The drone was equipped with the latest surveillance systems, radar and electronic communication. The reason for the crash was a cyber-attack of Iranian intelligence.

American NBC channel reported that RQ-170 was used by the U.S. to obtain information on Iran's nuclear facilities. According to unconfirmed reports, Washington was going to send a special unit to Iran to seize the aircraft and transport it to a U.S. military base. However, the plan was seen as risky and was abandoned.

Iran's military industry (like that in any other country) works in various directions. Recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the Army of the Republic obtained a new model of short-range missiles "surface-to-earth." The new "Fateh-110" has reduced launch time, longer service life, and can be used in adverse weather conditions.

Rocket "Fateh-110" ("Conqueror") is a purely defensive weapon, the President said. Ahmadinejad told the commanders that Iran was modernizing its armed forces not in an aggressive way, but only as a deterrent. "We do this not in order to achieve a dominant position or to win the neighboring countries," said Ahmadinejad in his speech. He also introduced other modern weapons, such as mortars, a tracking system developed by the intelligence, and a diesel engine for army ships.

In addition, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that he intended to equip the army with modern fighter jets, missiles, submarines and aircraft drones by the Iranian New Year celebrated in March. Iran has been trying to introduce a self-sufficient military program since 1992. The military leadership of the country is guided by the fact that in the future wars will be conducted in the air and on the water, therefore, Tehran is upgrading its own air defense system and increasing the power of its fleet.

It is difficult to verify the information on the new Iranian weapons because the authorities kept all the technical details of their defense technologies secret. Tehran makes routine statements about updates to its arsenal and holds official ceremonies to honor adoption of new technology and test launches of its missiles.

Every country strives to develop its military. Every country shall endeavor to protect itself and its people by all possible means. Iran is not an exception, but the attention is focused on this country, mainly, the attention of the United States. Naturally, Washington does not like the improvement of Iran's armed forces. There were multiple allegations against the Islamic Republic with regard to alleged creation of nuclear weapons and numerous sanctions were introduced. Let's see whether these concerns are grounded. Iran views Israel and the U.S. as potential opponents. Both of these countries do not rule out the possibility of attacking Iran to eliminate its nuclear program whose purpose, according to some members of the international community, is to acquire nuclear weapons. American politicians are doing everything they can so that Iran is unable to resist the aggression of the USA. The Iranian President responded with the following: Imagine that we do have a nuclear bomb. What will we do with it? What reasonable person would fight with five thousand American bombs with one bomb?

Iran's position is quite natural. No sane person would seriously think that Iran, even if it obtains a nuclear weapon, would immediately commit a national suicide by using a nuclear bomb to attack a country with a huge nuclear arsenal (the U.S. or Israel). The actions of Iran are not irrational. It is obvious that someone benefits from painting the Iranian regime as the main enemy whose goal is to build a nuclear weapon and use it against the U.S. and Israel.

The goal of this campaign is to persuade the world to support threats of aggression and to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. What is the real reason behind the fact that the governments of the USA and Israel are so desperate to prevent the Islamic republic from becoming a nuclear power? Presence of nuclear arms in Iran would prevent the U.S. leadership from attacking this country whenever it chooses. The U.S. does not want Iran to gain more control in the Middle East. The international community listens to the countries that have nuclear weapons. Washington cannot allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, otherwise it will lose control over the region. Presence of nuclear weapons in any country may deter aggression by other states (in the case of Iran, the U.S. and Israel). In case of acquiring nuclear weapons, Iran could easily expand its influence on a number of other countries of the region, and the U.S. does not want to let that happen and disseminates horror stories about Tehran's nuclear program.

"We need to strike a good blow to Iran's nuclear facilities," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The Head of Defense Ministry believes that a pre-emptive strike would be a better option than bombing it after Tehran has obtained a nuclear bomb. Such drastic actions by Israel so far have been blocked by Barack Obama. He prefers not to talk about a military operation and resolve the issue by introducing sanctions. 

Sergei Vasilenkov

Pravda.Ru 

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