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.”



France Summons Israeli Ambassador over Diplomatic Incident in Jerusalem

The Palestinian village of Burqa is seen as an Israeli flag is placed in the Jewish West Bank outpost of Homesh, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The Palestinian village of Burqa is seen as an Israeli flag is placed in the Jewish West Bank outpost of Homesh, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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France Summons Israeli Ambassador over Diplomatic Incident in Jerusalem

The Palestinian village of Burqa is seen as an Israeli flag is placed in the Jewish West Bank outpost of Homesh, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The Palestinian village of Burqa is seen as an Israeli flag is placed in the Jewish West Bank outpost of Homesh, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

France's Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador on Tuesday following an incident involving Israeli security forces during a visit last week by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to Jerusalem.

The French ministry condemned the presence of armed Israeli police at the Eléona, a French-owned site on the Mount of Olives, and the brief detention of two French consulate gendarmes with diplomatic status.

Barrot canceled his scheduled visit to the compound. France has demanded measures to prevent such incidents from reoccurring, The AP reported.

Israeli police portrayed the controversy as a misunderstanding, saying two church workers who declined to identify themselves had refused entry to Israeli security guards accompanying Barrot. Police said they held the men for about 20 minutes and released them once they were identified as employees of the French Consulate in Jerusalem, the protector of French religious communities and four holy sites in the city.

Israeli police said all foreign ministers on official visits are assigned Israeli security guards. It said the logistics of Barrot’s visit were worked out beforehand with the French Embassy in Israel.

The diplomatic rift arose amid heightened security concerns for the France-Israel UEFA Nations League match on Thursday in Paris.

French authorities have announced extensive security measures to safeguard the event following violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam.