Iran Says Its Using New Stealth Drone

Iran said on Saturday it has started mass-producing and using a stealth drone with a range of 700 kilometers (420 miles) that it claims is undetectable to radars.

“We have built a drone with a more than 700-kilometer range which can collect information and shoot films,” the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, told Iran’s Arabic-language satellite news channel Al-Alam.

“The material and the shape of this drone make it undetectable for radars, so it cannot be targeted,” he added.

“The drone has passed its experimental phase, and it is being mass-produced, and we are currently using it in our operations,” Rahim Safavi said without giving more details.

His announcement comes a few days after troops under his command successfully tested a land-to-sea missile with a range of about 350 kilometers (210 miles) and a new Russian-made air defense missile system.

Iranian leaders have repeatedly said the Islamic republic’s armed forces are ready for any eventuality in the current standoff with the West over its nuclear program.

Although the United States has said it wants the standoff resolved through diplomacy, Washington has never ruled out military action to thwart Iran’s atomic drive.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran vehemently denies the charges, insisting its atomic program is peaceful in nature.