Sometimes strong, nasty people will just drop hints. And like a Mafia crime boss, Iran is dropping hints about their ability to hurt people. In the latest round of unverified bravado, Iran has claimed they have a new unmanned aircraft that can travel 2,000 kilometers and stay in the air for 30 hours, according to the Fars News Agency.
Coincidentally, Israel is less than 2,000 kilometers from Iran. Or perhaps that’s not such a coincidence.
Iran has long held Israel to be one of its chief enemies, referring to them as a “little satan” and generally blaming the ills of the world on Israel’s leadership. So a new weapon that could go as far as Israel sounds less like a notable fact and more like a battle plan.
Fars reported that Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said the drone’s capabilities “enable it to conduct combat missions in addition to surveillance and reconnaissance missions.” Forget all the natural disasters he mentioned as possible uses for the drone. He also said it can be outfitted with “air-to-surface missiles and rockets.”
What’s more, while Dehqan highlighted the defensive capabilities of the drone, let’s not forget that flight range. Sounds a lot like a one-way ticket to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
Iran, you may recall, is currently working on a nuclear program suspected of having military uses. But besides nukes, Iran also has worked on a variety of military items, including missiles and drones.
In the drone world, Iran made headlines a while back when it managed to capture a downed American drone aircraft that crashed in Iran.
In other words, Iran may not be bluffing this time. And that’s a scary thought.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 18, 2013)