Iran shows extracted video from captured RQ-170 UAV

Iran unveils its new home-made optimized Zulfiqar Zolfaqar main battle tank

Iranian home-made Zulfiqar (Zolfaqar) tanks optimized by Iranian Army experts were unveiled by Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan on Monday, February 4, 2013. During the unveiling ceremony, which was attended by a group of army commanders and high-ranking military officials, advanced versions of Zolfaqar tank was unveiled. 

The ceremony was held on the occasion of the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations (marking the Iranian revolution's victory over the former Pahlavi regime) and the anniversary of historic return of the late Imam Khomeini to the country from exile on February 1, 1979 and ends with the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11.

In mid-January, Pourdastan said Iran will start mass-production of Zolfaqar tank after the approval of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Pourdastan had earlier said that Iran continued optimizing Zolfaqar tanks in a bid to upgrade its capabilities against modern threats. 

"Each day we work on a newer version of Zolfaqar tanks so that the tank could maintain its efficiency in the battlefield and ground defense," Pourdastan told FNA in September.

"We certainly make changes in Zolfaqar tanks in accordance to threats and prepare it and make it an advanced tank in accordance with our battleground needs."

Zolfaqar is a second generation of Iran's main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zolfaqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.

Iran Unveils New Fighter Jet: Qaher-313

Iran today unveiled the mock-up of a domestically built fighter jet that can reportedly evade radar. The single-seat Qaher-313 (F-313) can combat both other aircraft and ground targets, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. The government has not announced if any flight tests has been conducted on an actual prototype model, and when the new fighter will go into full production. No technical specifications of the aircraft has also been released.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed the manufacturing of Qaher-313 as manifestation of the country’s growing self-reliance in defense industry. In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, Ahmadinejad said the Qaher-313 (“Dominant-313”) shows Iran's will to “conquer scientific peaks.”

“Qaher-313 is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips,” said Iran’s Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said. (IRNA, 2 February)

Iran's English-language state Press TV claimed Qaher was similar to the American-made F/A-18, an advanced fighter capable of dogfighting as well as penetrating enemy air defenses to strike ground targets.

Iran Currency Hits Historic Low

 

 

The Iranian currency hit a record low against the dollar on Thursday, trading at 40,000 rials to a dollar in Tehran’s open markets. The previous low record was in October 2012 when the exchange rate sank to 37,000 rials/dollar, creating  currency crisis and protests in the bazaar.

On 31 January 2012, the rial was traded at 18,500:1. Today’s plummeting of the currency means that rial has lost two-thirds of its value in one year.

Satellite Photos Show No Damage to Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Site

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) today released Astrium commercial satellite imagery of Iran’s Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant taken on 22 January, a day after the website WND had claimed that the site was the target of a major explosion. The imagery (top photo) shows no exterior signs of an explosion or major damage. As ISIS experts have observed, there are no “intensified activity in the form of emergency or cleanup vehicles that one would expect to see around the site in the wake of an incident of this magnitude.”  (ISIS, 30 January)

During the last few days, Iranian, Israeli, and U.S. officials denied that sabotage or a major incident occurred and IAEA concurred.

Top photo: Satellite imagery of the Fordo fuel enrichment site from January 22nd, one day after the reported explosion that caused major damage to the site. The imagery shows no damage to the outside and no discernible signs of emergency vehicles or activity at the tunnel entrances. (ISIS)

Bottom photo: GeoEye imagery from Google Earth of the Fordo site two months before the alleged underground explosion at the site. (ISIS)

Iran starts mass production of new home-made air defense missile system Ya Zahra

The Iranian Defense Ministry started mass production of an advanced home-made air defense missile system. The production line of Ya Zahra air defense missile system was officially inaugurated on Sunday, January 27, 2013, in a special ceremony attended by Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.

Iranian army will unveil further optimization of its home-made Zolfaqar main battle tank

Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said the Army plans to unveil an optimized version of the home-made Zolfaqar tank in the near future. "The tank's fire control system and stabilizer have been optimized and it will be unveiled by the next two weeks," Pourdastan told reporters in Tehran.

He said the new version of Zolfaqar has gone under comparison with one of the most advanced battle tanks manufactured by the Eastern powers and has shown increasingly higher capabilities.

Iran will start mass-production of the tank after the approval of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the Army Ground Force Commander said.

Pourdastan had earlier said that Iran continued optimizing Zolfaqar tanks in a bid to upgrade its capabilities against modern threats.

"Each day we work on a newer version of Zolfaqar tanks so that the tank could maintain its efficiency in the battlefield and ground defense," Pourdastan told FNA in September.

"We certainly make changes in Zolfaqar tanks in accordance to threats and prepare it and make it an advanced tank in accordance with our battleground needs."

Zolfaqar is a second generation of Iran's main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zolfaqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.

Zolfaqar is operated by a crew of three personnel. The automatic loader is believed to be the same one from the T-72 tank.

The Zolfaqar-1 uses a fire control system which enjoys a 'fire-on-the-move' technology. The Zolfaqar mounts a laser-warning pod on the turret. Its design enables the tank to use an Iranian-made package of reactive armor.

Zolfaqar-2 is a prototype tank used as a test bed. The Zolfaqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun, with a 125mm autoloader.

4460 Dead From Air Pollution--Iranian Health Ministry

Some kind of conspiracy against Iran ;) ?

The BBC reported on Saturday that Mr. Hasan Aghajani, advisor to the health minister, had told an Iranian TV station that 4460 Iranians had died as a result of air pollution in the past year (1).

He also reported a 10% increase in emergency service calls, and a 30% increase in visits to the cardiology centers in Tehran.

Last Wednesday, schools and government buildings were shut down to avoid exposing the public to toxic levels of air pollution and to reduce traffic in many iranian cities, including: Tehran, Isfahan, and Ghom. Tehran was shut down again this past saturday under similar circumstances.

More than 22 million Iranians live in polluted cities and are subject to increased health risks resulting from air pollution (1).

Iran test-fires Noor long-range missile in naval drill

Iran Successfully Test-Fires Qader, Nour Missiles in Drill

Iranian Navy Tests Short-Range Cruise Missiles in Velayat 91 Drills

Iran to Test Fire New Surface-to-Air Missile

Iran navy will test fire its new Ra’d (“Thunder”) missile during the six-day “Velayat 91” drills that started today. The indigenous surface-to-air missile is designed to strike medium-range targets. (Fars News Agency, 28 December)

Iran test fired its first indigenous medium-range anti-radar missile, Mehrab (Altar), during the Velayat 90 naval exercises in December 2011.

IRGC Navy Holds Maneuvers in Persian Gulf

 IRGC Navy began a four-day naval exercise on Tuesday in the Asaluyeh and South Pars region of the Persian Gulf. The region holds one of the world’s largest natural gas reserves.
“The exercises are aimed at improving the different units of IRGC Navy in Fourth Region. We will assess our defense capabilities of human forces and facilities,” said IRGC Rear Admiral Ali Reza Nasseri. (Mehr News Agency, 26 December)

Iran’s regular navy will also hold maneuvers on Friday, covering a 400,000-mile area from the Strait of Hormuz to northern part of the Indian Ocean.

Sanctions Push Iran into Recession - GDP Expected to Shrink by 3.5%

Institute for International Finance, the Washington-based global association of financial services, said today in its report on the Middle East and North Africa that economic sanctions imposed on Iran have pushed the country into recession. (Reuters, 10 December)

Crude oil exports have dropped sharply, the Iranian rial has plummeted and inflation has soared this year, with GDP expected to shrink by 3.5 percent in 2012/2013 Iranian fiscal year.

“With crude oil prices holding at around $110 per barrel, (Iranian) government revenues from oil (which accounted for about half of its total revenues in previous years) could drop by at least 40 percent,” the report said. (Reuters, 10 December)

IIF also forecast that inflation will average around 50 percent this year, up from 26.5 in 2011.

The IIF report notes that the worsening economic conditions could have serious political and social implications as Iran approaches mid-2013 presidential elections.