Tehran (AFP)
Iran revealed a jet drone on Sunday, saying the plane could hit targets outside the country's borders.
Named "Kian", the drone was designed, produced and tested by air force experts in just one year, assured the head of the defense forces of the Air Force, General Alireza Sabahi-Fard, quoted by the official Irna agency.
This drone is declined in two models able to carry out "missions of surveillance and reconnaissance, and flights for precise missions", he declared, then unveiling the apparatus, white and orange.
The drone can fly "more than 1,000 kilometers and find its target accurately" and "is able to target targets outside the country's borders and provide air defense in enemy territories," he added.
According to the Iranian TV channels, it can also be loaded with several types of ammunition and rise to an altitude of 5,000 m.
The announcement comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington have been exacerbated by the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the international nuclear deal and the reinstatement of heavy US sanctions stifling Iran's economy.
Tensions between the two countries saw a new bout of fever during mysterious attacks on vessels in the Gulf region in May and June. An Iranian UAV, according to Tehran, has also been shot down by Iran while another has been destroyed by the United States, with Iran denying that it owns it.
An Iranian oil tanker was then seized by the British authorities off Gibraltar, then released, and three others seized by Iran, including one flying the flag of Great Britain, allied with the United States.
These naval quarrels caused fear of uncontrollable escalation, although a slight easing was observed during the G7 held in Biarritz (France) at the end of August.
Drones have also been at the center of tensions in recent days, particularly in Lebanon, where the Shiite Hezbollah movement has blamed Israel for an attack with two of these devices against its southern bastion of Beirut.
© 2019 AFP