One day after the activation of the nuclear reactor in Bushehr, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled another new achievement: a long-range drone, dubbed Karar, which reportedly can bomb targets at high speed.
The unveiling of the aircraft comes as Iran marks on Sunday its annual Defense Industries Day.
Television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth which had been covering the drone was pulled back to reveal a short aircraft painted in military-green with the words "Bomber jet" written on its side.
Images were then broadcast on television showing the aircraft flying. Ahmadinejad made a speech at the ceremony, held in a hall of Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, but did not mention the drone.
State television's website reported that the drone has "different capabilities, including carrying bombs to destroy targets." It said the plane can fly for a "long range at high speed."
The website cited Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that the Karar is a "symbol of the versatility and advancement of Iran's defense industries."
The unveiling of Karar, the nickname of Imam Ali, the first Muslim Shiite imam, comes two days after Iran test fired a domestically built surface-to-surface missile, Qiam (Rising).
Over the next few days Iran is expected to make series of further military announcements as the nation marks the annual government week, a period used by Tehran to tout its achievements.
In this period Iran is also expected to test fire a third generation Fateh 110 (Conqueror) missile. Iran has previously paraded a version of Fateh 110 which has a travel range of 150 to 200 kilometers (90 to 125 miles).
Also during government week, the production lines of two missile-carrying speedboats, Seraj (Lamp) and Zolfaqar (named after Imam Ali's sword) are due to be inaugurated.
The unveiling of Karar comes days after Iran took delivery of four new mini-submarines of the home-produced Ghadir class. Weighing 120 tons, the "stealth" submarines are aimed at operations in shallow waters, notably in the Gulf.
Iran's archfoes the United States and Israel have not ruled out a military strike against Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program.
EXPERTS SAY IRAN NOT SO CLOSE TO BOMB
Meanwhile, Israeli media on Sunday reported that experts believe that the historic activation of the Iranian nuclear reactor in Bushehr on Saturday was indeed an important move forward in the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and theoretically the facility could be helpful in Tehran's efforts to attain a nuclear weapon; however it will not be able to do so.
The move evoked a protest and expression of concern on Israel's part, but according to the experts, the Iranians would find it difficult to deceive the Russian inspectors and use the facility's nuclear waste to create a bomb, according to Israeli media reports.
The facility's activation was a historic movement, in which Iran joined the list of countries in possession of a nuclear power station. The reactor was inaugurated after decades of construction and preparations, with the nuclear fuel loaded under the supervision of technicians from Russia, which has helped Iran build the facility since the 1990s.
Nonetheless, it will take several months before the reactor starts producing electricity. The Russians are expected to continue examining the site in the future as well, while making certain that Iran will not use the nuclear waste to create an atom bomb.
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