The 4-meter-long drone aircraft can carry up to four cruise missiles and will have a range of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), according to a state TV report -- not far enough to reach archenemy Israel. ”The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship,” said Ahmadinejad at the inauguration ceremony, which fell on the country’s national day for its defense industries.
The goal of the aircraft, named Karrar or striker, is to "keep the enemy paralyzed in its bases,” he said, adding that the aircraft is for deterrence and defensive purposes.
The president championed the country’s military self-sufficiency program, and said it will continue "until the enemies of humanity lose hope of ever attacking the Iranian nation.”
Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a US weapons embargo and now produces its own tanks, armored personnel carries, missiles and even a fighter plane. Iran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified.
State TV later showed video footage of the plane taking off from a launching pad and reported that the craft traveled at speeds of 560 miles per hour (900 kilometers) and could alternatively be armed with two 250-pound bombs or a 450-pound guided bomb.
Iran has been producing its own light, unmanned surveillance aircraft since the late 1980s. The ceremony came a day after Iran began to fuel its first nuclear power reactor, with the help of Russia, amid international concerns over the possibility of a military dimension to its nuclear program.
Iran insists it is only interested in generating electricity. Referring to Israel’s occasional threats against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Ahmadinejad called any attack unlikely, but he said if Israel did, the reaction would be overwhelming.
“The scope of Iran’s reaction will include the entire the earth,” said Ahmadinejad. “We also tell you the West -- that all options are on the table.”
Ahmadinejad appeared to be consciously echoing the terminology used by the US and Israel in their statements not ruling out a military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
On Friday, Iran also test-fired a new liquid fuel surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam-1, with advanced guidance systems. Than starts to fuel up first nuclear power plant
On Suunday,Iran began loading fuel into its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and its rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb.
Television showed live pictures of Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi and his Russian counterpart watching a fuel rod assembly being prepared for insertion into the reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.
“Despite all the pressures, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the start-up of the largest symbol of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” Salehi told a news conference. Russia designed and built the plant and will supply fuel. To ease nuclear proliferation concerns, it will take back spent rods that could be used to make weapons-grade plutonium.
Washington has criticised Moscow for pushing ahead with Bushehr despite Iranian defiance over its nuclear program. But US State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said Washington did not view the reactor as a proliferation risk, partly because of Russia’s role in providing fuel and taking back spent rods. “Russia’s support for Bushehr underscores that Iran does not need an indigenous enrichment capability if its intentions are purely peaceful,” Holladay said.
