Hugo Chavez has welcomed Iran’s president onto Venezuelan soil and called for his country to leave a World Bank-affiliated body. Meanwhile, Washington has expelled Venezuela’s consul general in Miami.
British diplomatic staff in Iran have been withdrawn following an attack on its embassy in Tehran yesterday – during which protesters shouting “Death to England” smashed windows, burned British flags and set a car alight.
More deaths in Syria; a man appears in court in Ronan Kerr murder probe; an NFL star is stabbed; possible trouble ahead in Iran; and what do David Beckham and the Crown Prince of Bahrain have in common? The Daily Fix reveals all…
IRAN HAS UNVEILED the country’s first domestically-made long-range unmanned bomber aircraft.
Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, described the drone as an “ambassador of death” to Iran’s enemies but adds that the craft “has a main message of peace and friendship”.
Ahmadinejad has said that the main purpose of the drone is “to keep the enemy paralysed in its bases”.
A drone aircraft is one that aircraft that flies without a human crew on board, and is controlled by a ground crew. Concerns about the precision of strikes carried out by drones have led to many condemning the military technology.
The unveiling of the aircraft, nicknamed the “Karrar” which means “striker” in Farsi, comes just one day after the country began loading nuclear fuel into its first ever reactor, which as sent jitters throughout the international community.
Iranian semi-state run news agency Fars has quoted Hamed Saeedi, who is the Managing Director of Farnas Aerospace Company in charge of the project, who commented:
We plan to manufacture UAVs, including unmanned choppers and drones, at this site…
And added
Drones will be of the tactical type, with a short range of 400 to 500 meters flying altitude which cannot be detected by radio waves as they will be stealth aircraft.
Fars also writes: “Iranian officials have always stressed that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country”.
See this report from Iranian state news channel Press TV:
IRANIAN OFFICIALS have denied that the county’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was attacked by a grenade while on a visit to the western city of Hasmadan.
Newswires had reported the attack earlier this morning, but a spokesperson for Ahmadinejad said the explosion was from a “firecracker.”
“It was a firecracker, and a statement will be released soon,” the source told AFP.
Reports on a conservative website claimed that a hand grenade had exploded next to a vehicle carrying reporters accompanying the president in the western city of Hamedan.
President Ahmadinejad later delivered a live televised speech to locals gathered in a stadium, but he made no reference to the incident.
Returers have said Ahmadinejad – a populist hardliner – has accumulated enemies in conservative and reformist circles in the Islamic Republic as well as abroad.
During a speech in Tehran on Monday, Ahmadinejad said he believed he was the target of an assassination plot by Israel. “The stupid Zionists have hired mercenaries to assassinate me,” he said.
The oil market reacted calmly to the alleged attach with an analyst saying, “people are just waiting to see what this is about”.
A DEEP DIVIDE has been revealed among the leaders at the G8 summit over how to deal with the ongoing conflict in Syria.
The US has indicated it wants to arm Syria’s rebels, while Russia remains in staunch opposition to the plan. Others, including Britain and France, are reluctant to make a decision just yet. However, President Francois Hollande asked:
How can you allow Russia to continue to send weapons to the regime of Bashar al-Assad while the opposition gets so few weapons?
At least 93,000 people have been killed in the two-year civil war as rebels struggle to overtake Bashar Assad’s forces who are strengthened by support from Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.
On Sunday, Putin argued his position: “One hardly should back those who kill their enemies and, you know, eat their organs,” referencing a video purportedly showing a rebel commander committing an act of cannibalism. “Do we want to support these people? Do we want to supply arms to these people?”
Today we ask: Should international powers arm Syria’s rebels?
Times of clouds and sun
Max: 18 °C
Min: 10 °C
Periods of rain
Max: 19 °C
Min: 12 °C
