As tensions with the United States rise
over Iran's nuclear ambitions and regional
security issues, Tehran has been flaunting its
military capabilities and asserting its
preparedness in the face of a possible attack.
In recent weeks, Iran has opened a new air
base, unveiled new domestically produced military
hardware, and issued defense pronouncements at a
rapid-fire pace.
At a military parade on
September 22 to mark the 27th
anniversary of Saddam
Hussein's invasion of Iran, the Iranian military
presented what it claimed was a new, medium-range
ballistic missile.
The Qadr-1 appeared to
be an advanced variant of the Shahab-3. A former
director of Israel's Ballistic Missile Defense
Organization, Uzi Rubin, noted that the Qadr
missile "which appeared in the 2004 parade was
then said to have a range of 2,000 kilometers".
If those and other reports are correct,
the Qadr-1 is capable of striking Israel, southern
Europe and US bases in the Middle East. Just
days earlier, Iran unveiled three prototypes of
what it claims is a domestically manufactured
fighter jet. The aircraft, called the Saeqeh
(Thunderbolt), is the latest generation of the
previously tested Azarkhash (Thunder) fighter jet.
A joint product of the Iranian Air Force and its
Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Ministry, the
Saeqeh has been described as similar to the US
F-18 fighter jet. Iranian authorities say they
have begun industrial-scale production of the
Saeqeh.
Military commander Major General
Ataollah Salehi has described the domestic
production of the Saeqeh as "a warning to Western
countries that threaten" Iran. He added that such
countries "must know that while they are trying to
turn other countries against [Iran] with their
limited capabilities in the region", Iran
"possesses unlimited technology" with which it can
oppose those threats.
On October 9, Iran
inaugurated a production line for the manufacture
of a one-ton smart bomb called the Qadr. Fars News
Agency reported that this bomb - a variant of the
Qased (Messenger) smart bomb - is an optically
guided, air-to-surface, long-range bomb that meets
the Iranian Air Force's need for a powerful
weapon. Fars' defense reporter added that Iran's
"attainment of the technology for designing and
mass-producing smart bombs with a high degree of
power and accuracy is one of the achievements of
Iran's defense specialists", and said the Qased is
one such weapon.
Guarding the eastern
front Also this month, Iran opened a new
air base near its eastern border with Afghanistan.
The base - named Qa'em Al-e Muhammad in a
reference to Shi'ite Islam's 12th, or hidden, imam
- lies in Birjand, the capital of the sparsely
populated province of South Khorasan, and is about
1,300 kilometers from Tehran.
While most
of Iran's air bases, mainly constructed under the
Pahlavi dynasty between 1925-79, lie along its
western borders in anticipation of threats from
that direction, the Qa'em Al-e Muhammad facility
is meant to enhance the presence of Iran's air
force along its eastern border, together with
three other bases in Mashhad, Zahedan and Chah
Bahar.
The commander of the Iranian air
force, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, told state
television after the base was opened that "in
light of the threats that Iran faced in the past,
Iran paid more attention to the southern and
western region". But he said that "the
inauguration of this air base is aimed at
responding swiftly if an attack is launched
against the country".
Miqani accused
"extra-regional and global powers" of "attempts
... to threaten the Islamic republic" and said the
country's air force is fully prepared to respond
to possible attacks.
In addition to these
efforts to boost its military capabilities, Iran
has taken steps to improve its passive defenses -
such as radar and other detection - that might
minimize damage in the event of hostilities with
the United States or Israel.
On September
27, Iran's Defense Industries Organization held
its first conference on passive defense, inviting
representatives of engineering consultancies as
well as planners and managers from a number of
ministries.
In a reference to Iran's
experience in passive defense during the Iran-Iraq
war in 1980-88, the head of the country's Passive
Defense Organization, Brigadier General Gholam
Reza Jalali, has argued that "implementing the
principles that govern passive defense can reduce
costs and provide a durable defense" against enemy
attack.
Calculated show of
strength The rising tensions between
Washington and Tehran have no doubt influenced the
timing of Iran's displays of military progress.
While US officials have repeatedly stressed their
desire to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff
diplomatically, administration officials have
pointedly avoided taking a military option "off
the table".
US Vice President Dick Cheney
on Sunday described Iran as an "obstacle to peace
in the Middle East" and warned that "the
international community is prepared to impose
serious consequences" if Iran's leadership
maintains its "present course".
Two new
European leaders, British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, have
issued blunt statements on the topic of a possible
military option if diplomatic efforts fail to curb
Iran's nuclear activities.
While Iran's
top brass have suggested that the United States is
in no position - economically or politically - to
attack Iran, current and former generals are well
aware of US military might.
Addressing
students at Tehran's Sharif University recently,
former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps
commander Yaha Rahim-Safavi warned against
"looking at military issues simplistically".
Rahim-Safavi said that "America, with its military
forces in the region, has the capacity to cause
problems" for Iran.
Reports of an alleged
Israeli air attack against mysterious targets in
Syria in September have compounded Iranian
concerns. Iran's generals appear to be wondering
why two state-of-the-art, Russian-built radar
systems in Syria failed to detect Israeli jets
entering Syrian territory.
In January,
Iran received a US$750 million shipment of 29
Tor-M1 short-range, mobile surface-to-air missile
systems from Russia to help guard nuclear
facilities.
Copyright (c) 2007, RFE/RL
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