On the eve of the anniversary of the 1980s war with Iraq, Iran displayed its military hardware, including “the world’s longest-range drone” as well as ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
The drone “was unveiled” at the parade, which was broadcast live, the drones shown at the event bear the names Mohajer, Shahed and Arash, Iranian state media reported. President Ebrahim Raisi said at Friday’s parade in the capital Tehran:
“We can teach the people of the region that resistance is today’s way. What forces the enemy to retreat is not submission and wavering, but resistance.”
Last month, the country announced that it had built an advanced Mohajer-10 drone with increased range and flight duration, as well as a larger payload. It has a range of 2,000 kilometres and a flight time of up to 24 hours. State media report that its payload can reach 300kg, which is twice as much as that of the Mohajer-6 drone.
Washington has accused Iran of supplying Mohajer-6 drones as well as other unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia for the war in Ukraine. Iranian authorities deny these accusations.
Last month, a video appeared on the internet showing a Mohajer-6 drone among other military equipment with the words “Prepare your shelters” written in Persian and Hebrew, the latter an allusion to Israel.
The Iran-Iraq War began on 22 September 1980 when troops of then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. The heavy hostilities, which resulted in about half a million deaths, ended inconclusively in August 1988.
