|
They said the drone "was unveiled” in the parade, which was
broadcast live, and that drones displayed in the event were
named Mohajer, Shahed and Arash.
The Islamic Republic said last month that it had built an
advanced drone named Mohajer-10 with an enhanced flight range
and duration as well as a larger payload.
It has an operational range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles) and can
fly for up to 24 hours, state media reported then, adding that
its payload could reach 300 kg (661 pounds), double the capacity
of the Mohajer-6 drone.
The United States has accused Iran of providing Mohajer-6
drones, among other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to Russia
for its war against Ukraine. On Tuesday, Washington expanded
Iran-related sanctions, citing Tehran's "continued, deliberate
proliferation of UAVs" enabling Russia, its proxies in the
Middle East and other destabilizing actors".
Iran denies providing drones to Russia for the conflict in
Ukraine.
“Our forces ensure security in the region and the Persian Gulf,”
President Ebrahim Raisi said at Friday’s parade in the capital
Tehran. “We can teach the people of the region that resistance
is today’s way. What forces the enemy to retreat is not
submission and wavering, but resistance.”
A video released last month by Iranian media showed the
Mohajer-6 among other military hardware, with a text reading
"prepare your shelters" in both Persian and Hebrew, the latter
an allusion to Iran's arch-regional enemy, Israel.
The United States issued fresh Iran-related sanctions on
Tuesday, targeting multiple people and entities in Iran, Russia,
China and Turkey over Tehran's drone and military aircraft
development.
The Iran-Iraq war erupted on Sept. 22, 1980 when the forces of
then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. The conflict,
which was economically devastating and left at least half a
million dead, ended in stalemate in August 1988.
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
