Bloomberg: Iran will test a precision-guided, 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bomb “within the coming days” as part of military exercises, the defense minister was cited as saying by the state-run Fars news agency. By Robin Stringer
Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Iran will test a precision-guided, 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bomb “within the coming days” as part of military exercises, the defense minister was cited as saying by the state-run Fars news agency.
Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar called the domestically manufactured bomb the ministry’s greatest achievement of the last 12 months.
The “Zolfaqar Blow” military exercises, aimed at improving the integration of ground, air and naval forces, began on Aug. 19. The training is designed to test Iran’s ability to “face the enemy in various points of the country at once,” Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari said at the time.
Yesterday Iran tested a domestically-manufactured warplane similar to the U.S.’s F-18 jet fighter, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. “The Saegheh warplane is similar to the F-18 only more powerful,” said Major General Ataollah Salehi, commander in chief of the army.
Iran made a series of claims during a military exercise in April called “Holy Prophet” which took place in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. At the time Iranian television reported the launch of a “radar-evading missile capable of hitting multiple targets,” and a “super-modern flying boat,” which was not recognized by radar and could fire missiles, according to Jane’s Defence Weekly.
“The Iranians have been known to boast and exaggerate their statements about greater technical and tactical capabilities,” U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said on April 3, according to Jane’s.
The Islamic Republic failed to comply with an Aug. 31 United Nations Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, a stance that could lead to sanctions. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear-power program to disguise weapons development, a charge Iran refutes.
Iran’s nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani will discuss the crisis with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero in Madrid today. China, a member of the UN Security Council, said earlier today it will not back sanctions against Iran.
