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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Iran Shows Off Unmanned, Long-Range Bomber

Tehran, 22 August: Iran's military has unveiled a new unmanned aircraft, saying the drone is capable of carrying out long-range missions.

Iran's military displayed the drone Sunday at a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and shown on live television.

Officials told Iran's state-run Press TV that the drone, named the Karrar, meaning "striker", can carry out long-distance bombing runs against ground targets at high speeds.

The Associated Press quoted Mr. Ahmadinejad as saying the new drone was an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies. The Iranian Students News Agency described the unmanned aircraft as a "stealth bomber drone."

Late Saturday, President Ahmadinejad told a group of academics that Iran aims to send Iranian astronauts into space by 2025.

He said the country's next step is to launch satellites to an altitude of 700 kilometers, and then 1,000 kilometers, in the next three years.

On Friday, Iran test-fired a new surface-to-surface missile called the Qiam-1.

Earlier this month, Iran's navy displayed four new Iranian-built submarines, as part of  Tehran's efforts to boost its defense capabilities.

Iranian media said the navy now has 11 Ghadir-class stealth submarines that can operate in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf).

Western countries are concerned Tehran's ambitious military and space programs may be developing technology to launch nuclear warheads.