Iran Launches Drills on Targeting Vessels by Suicide Drones

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army media office on October 4, 2023 shows locally-made drones during a military drill at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army media office on October 4, 2023 shows locally-made drones during a military drill at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
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Iran Launches Drills on Targeting Vessels by Suicide Drones

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army media office on October 4, 2023 shows locally-made drones during a military drill at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army media office on October 4, 2023 shows locally-made drones during a military drill at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by Iranian Army office / AFP)

The Iranian Army has launched drones on navy targets amid a British condemnation of Iran launching a satellite into space that uses technology essential for ballistic missiles.

The training is part of maneuvers witnessing the participation of the electronic warfare unit, in addition to units from land, navy, and aerial forces.

The maneuvers are focused on the use of various kinds of UAVs.

IRGC-affiliated news agencies Tasnim and Fars published pictures of the launching of the Kararr drone.

The government-affiliated ISNA agency reported from the media body speaking for the maneuvers that the Karrar UAV tried for the first time to develop its combat capabilities from a land platform to an aerial platform in the desert.

The statement added that the drones are equipped with surface-to-surface missiles and designed to be used in aerial battles.

General Alireza Sheikh, the spokesperson for the drills, said that the use of this type of drone is “an extremely complicated process” adding that it would lead to “an effective deterrence.”

He went on to say that drones help the country increase defense, enhance tactical defense and the flexibility of air defense from a land platform to an aerial platform, and reduce costs and the risky use of individuals.

“A drone targeted another drone with a missile in an aerial combat (mission) which has been done for the first time in the country and we managed to destroy the targeted drone,” said Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi Fard, the commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force.

The commander of the Iranian Army Air Force, Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi, said that his forces are keen on upgrading the drones’ capabilities.

The Iranian army showed in footage the targeting of a vessel by a suicide drone in the Gulf of Oman.

In the past two years, the army has acquired new weapons including missiles and drones that were exclusively used by the IRGC for years.

The army’s drills come two weeks before the deadline of the “Sunset Clause” stipulated in the nuclear deal timeline by which ballistic missiles and drone sanctions are lifted in the fifth year of Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal obligations.

Donald Trump's Administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018. Iran started to violate the deal’s obligations four years ago without fully withdrawing from it.

The European forces affirmed maintaining the sanctions against Iran due to its role in supplying Russia with drones in the war against Ukraine and its failure to comply with the deal.

The commander-in-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, noted that the incorporation of pinpoint accuracy into ballistic missiles is a very complicated process, stating that Iran is among the three countries that exclusively possess such technical know-how.

Iran has successfully placed a third imaging satellite in orbit, a move that will likely garner more criticism from the Western world over fears that Tehran is using this as a cover to acquire transcontinental missiles with a potential 4,500-km range.

UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released a statement in response to Iran launching the Noor-III satellite on September 27.

“Iran announced the successful launch of the Noor-III satellite using the Qased Space Launch Vehicle which uses technology essential for the development of a long-range ballistic missile system,” it said.

“Iran’s actions further prove its disregard of international restrictions and highlight the grave threat posed by the regime to global security.”

The statement added: “Alongside partners, the UK remains committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and to hold the regime to account for its malign activity around the world.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press conference on Monday that the US believes “their missile – that those specific launchers are in violation – are in violation of the ballistic missile – the UN Security resolutions that relate to ballistic missiles with respect to Iran.”



Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
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Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to dismiss a top security official has threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis, with opponents on Monday organizing protests and a former court president warning against the "dangerous" move.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, following a similar bid by the government to oust the attorney general.

Bar, who has been engaged in a public spat with Netanyahu in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, suggested there were political motives behind the premier's decision to ask the government to dismiss him.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara -- the executive's top legal adviser who has often taken positions that clashed with those of Netanyahu's government -- said the move was "unprecedented" and its legality needed to be assessed.

Bar said it stemmed from his own refusal to meet Netanyahu's demands for "personal loyalty".

The agency led by Bar has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Several opposition parties have already announced they will jointly petition the High Court against Bar's dismissal, and the attorney general said in a letter to Netanyahu that he could not initiate the process "until the factual and legal foundation of your decision is fully clarified".

Baharav Miara is herself under threat of a no-confidence motion submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has spearheaded efforts to reform the judiciary and curb the court's powers -- a plan that sparked major protests before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Levin has accused Baharav Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary's independence, of "inappropriate conduct" and cited "significant and prolonged disagreements between the government and the attorney general".

The proceeding against the two figures promise to be lengthy, risking a repeat of the 2023 protest movement that was one of the most significant in Israel's history and had deeply fractured the country.

- 'Blow to national security' -

The Kaplan Force, a liberal umbrella organization which led the fight against the judicial reform, on Monday announced rallies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week to protest the dismissal of the Shin Bet head.

The move to sack Bar, who has been involved in negotiations over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, comes at a crucial time for the talks.

The truce has largely held since January 19 despite an impasse in efforts to extend it.

Since the Gaza war began, Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, while several senior military officials have resigned including army chief Herzi Halevi.

Benny Gantz, an opposition figure who once served as defense minister under Netanyahu, said on X that "the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a direct blow to national security and a dismantling of unity within Israeli society, driven by political and personal considerations."

Former Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch told Kan public radio that Netanyahu was leading "processes that are dangerous for society".

"We need to wake up, and to wake up in time," she said.

- 'Power-grab' -

For Netanyahu's allies, the move against Bar falls within the normal rights of the head of government.

"In what normal country is a special reason even needed to remove the head of an intelligence organization who is personally responsible for a massive intelligence failure that led to the greatest disaster in the history of Israel?" far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on Telegram.

Nahum Barnea, columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, warned of the dangers stemming from the clash between Netanyahu and Bar.

"A prime minister who has lost his brakes will rule as he sees fit, and his failed government will follow in his wake," he wrote.

"It is gradually inching us closer to a form of civil war... in which there is no trust and a refusal to obey in security organizations".

For Amir Tibon, writing for the left-wing daily Haaretz, "Israeli democracy is now in grave danger".

"It's up to Israelis to decide if they'll accept Netanyahu's hostile power-grab -- and how far they will go to stop it".