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Iran inaugurates nation's first unmanned bomber


TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

on Sunday inaugurated the country's first domestically built unmanned
bomber aircraft, calling it an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.

The 4-meter-long drone aircraft can carry up to four
cruise missiles and will have a range of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers),
according to a state TV report — not far enough to reach archenemy
Israel.

"The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for
the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship,"
said Ahmadinejad at the inauguration ceremony, which fell on the country's national day for its defense industries.

The goal of the aircraft, named Karrar or striker, is
to "keep the enemy paralyzed in its bases," he said, adding that the
aircraft is for deterrence and defensive purposes.

The president championed the country's military
self-sufficiency program, and said it will continue "until the enemies
of humanity lose hope of ever attacking the Iranian nation."

Iran launched an arms development program during its
1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo and now
produces its own tanks, armored personnel carries, missiles and even a fighter plane.

Iran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified.

State TV later showed video footage of the plane
taking off from a launching pad and reported that the craft traveled at
speeds of 560 miles per hour (900 kilometers per hour) and could
alternatively be armed with two 250-pound (113.4-kilogram) bombs or a
450-pound (204.12-kilogram) guided bomb.

Iran has been producing its own light, unmanned surveillance aircraft since the late 1980s.

The ceremony came a day after Iran began to fuel its
first nuclear power reactor, with the help of Russia, amid international
concerns over the possibility of a military dimension to its nuclear
program.

Iran insists it is only interested in generating electricity.

Referring to Israel's occasional threats against
Iran's nuclear facilities, Ahmadinejad called any attack unlikely, but
he said if Israel did, the reaction would be overwhelming.

"The scope of Iran's reaction will include the entire the earth," said Ahmadinejad. "We also tell you — the West — that all options are on the table."

Ahmadinejad appeared to be consciously echoing the terminology used by the U.S. and Israel in their statements not ruling out a military option against Iran's nuclear facilities.

On Friday, Iran also test-fired a new liquid fuel surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam-1, with advanced guidance systems.