DUBAI: Iran has started production of the locally-designed Kowsar fighter plane for use in its air force, state television reported, as tensions mount with the United States after the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.
"Soon the needed number of this plane will be produced and put at the service of the Air Force," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said at a ceremony on Saturday to launch the plane's production, which was shown on television.
The United States said on Friday it will temporarily allow eight importers to keep buying Iranian oil when it re-imposes sanctions on Monday to try to force Iran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional activities.
Having abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, US President Donald Trump is trying to cripple Iran's oil-dependent economy and force Tehran to quash not only its nuclear ambitions and its ballistic missile programme but its support for militant proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.
Iran says the Kowsar is "100-percent indigenously made" and able to carry various weapons and is to be used for short aerial support missions.
However, some military experts believe the fighter jet is a carbon copy of an F-5 first produced in the United States in the 1960s.
Iran's air force has been limited to perhaps a few dozen strike aircraft using either Russian or ageing US models acquired before the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Tehran has sent weapons and thousands of soldiers to Syria to help prop up President Bashar al-Assad's forces, but had to rely on Russia for aerial support due to its own lack of a powerful air force.
The Islamic Republic launched in 2013 what it said was a new, domestically-built fighter jet, called Qaher 313, but some experts expressed doubts about the viability of the aircraft at the time.
Iran starts producing local fighter jet for its air force
Iran starts producing local fighter jet for its air force
- Iran says the Kowsar is "100-percent indigenously made" and able to carry various weapons and is to be used for short aerial support missions
- Iran's air force has been limited to perhaps a few dozen strike aircraft using either Russian or ageing US models
Senegalese president meets Kuwaiti crown prince ahead of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
- Bassirou Diomaye Faye visits Kuwait and the UAE this week to strengthen his country’s ties with Gulf nations
LONDON: The president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, arrived in Kuwait on Monday for an official visit before traveling on to the UAE to participate in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Faye, who was accompanied by ministers responsible for national transformation, African integration, foreign affairs, finance and water management, held talks with Kuwait’s crown prince, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, on a number of issues, officials said.
The president aims to strengthen ties between Senegal and Gulf countries during his visits to Kuwait and the UAE this week, his office said. And on Jan. 14 and 15 he will take part in the final two days of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, described as a significant annual, international event dedicated to addressing the challenges related to sustainable development, energy transition and innovation.
Faye was welcomed on arrival in Kuwait by the country’s prime minister, Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah; the deputy assistant foreign minister for African affairs, Naif Mohammed Al-Mudhaf; and other officials.
