Home inContext Iran Unveils its “Ambassador of Death”

Iran Unveils its “Ambassador of Death”

Samara Greenberg
SOURCE

One day after initiating the start-up of its first nuclear power plant, Iran unveiled its first domestically built long-range unmanned bomber, the latest in a series of announcements about new military advances. At a ceremony marking Defense Industry Day, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the aircraft a “messenger of glory and salvation for humanity” but an “ambassador of death” for Iran’s enemies.

The new aircraft known as the Karrar, Farsi for “destroyer,” can carry up to four cruise missiles and two 250-pound bombs and has a range of 620 miles. It is the third such unmanned military aircraft to be announced this year by Iran and the second new weapon that Tehran has unveiled in a matter of days. On Friday, Iran test fired a surface-to-surface missile named Qiam, Farsi for “rising,” that was reportedly designed and built domestically. “This is just the beginning,” Ahmadinejad said.

Photo released by Iranian Defense Ministry claims to show launch of the Karrar, the “ambassador of death,” according to Ahmadinejad.

And apparently it is. Today Iran announced it has begun producing two types of missile-equipped speedboats. “Enemies should be careful not to play with fire,” Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said at the opening ceremony for the vessels’ production. “If they attack Iran our response will not be limited to one region and will be unpredictable.”

While aggressive, analysts claim Iran’s actions as of late are nothing more than a show of bravado with the hopes of preventing Israel or the U.S. from attacking its nuclear facilities. Indeed, Iran is known for announcing new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified. Nevertheless, Iran’s saber-rattling leaves the West with little comfort that the regime is interested in enriching uranium for peaceful purposes rather than for building a nuclear weapon.