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News ID: 63212
Publish Date : 17 February 2019 - 20:05
Rouhani: Sanctions Have Instigated Iran’s Progress

Missile-Equipped Fateh Submarine Joins Navy

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday inaugurated a new domestically-built submarine armed with cruise missiles at a ceremony in the southern port city of Bandar Lengeh.
"From this moment, the Fateh Submarine joins Iran’s naval force with my order,” Rouhani told the ceremony broadcast live on the national television.
The Fateh, "Conqueror” in Persian, has subsurface-to-surface missiles with a range of about 2,000 kilometers, capable of reaching the occupying regime of Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.
It weighs 600 tonnes and enjoys state-of-the-art weaponry, including torpedoes, naval mines and cruise missiles that could be launched from a submerged position.
Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the submarine is a totally indigenous product whose entire design process has been done by Iranian scientists and experts at the Marine Industries Organization of Iran.
It is equipped with sonar systems, electric propulsion, a system for firing submarine-launched missile at surface targets, an electronic warfare system as well as a secure integrated communications system, he said.
Since 1992, Iran has developed a homegrown defense industry that produces light and heavy weapons ranging from mortars and torpedoes to tanks and submarines.
Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of Western pressure and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons.
"Our defense power is solely defensive...Our enemy’s pressure and sanctions imposed on Iran have instigated our progress,” Rouhani said.
Last year, Iran’s navy launched a domestically-built destroyer, equipped with radar-evading stealth properties.
Earlier this month, Iran unveiled a surface-to-surface missile with a range of more than 1,350 kilometers during celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
General Hatami said the missile, named Hoveizeh, needs a very short time for its preparedness and can fly at a low altitude.
Head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC)'s aerospace division General Amirali Hajizadeh said at the event that Iran could now manufacture a full range of missiles after overcoming initial problems in producing jet engines for cruise missiles.
Tehran has reiterated that its missiles are defensive and used for deterrence in the face of repeated foreign threats.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said a military war against Iran was out of question, but called on the country's armed forces to boost their capabilities.
On Sunday, President Rouhani said Iran is ready to work with all of its neighbors to secure peace in the Middle East in the face of U.S. and Israeli aggression.
"Iran is ready to work with regional states to preserve security in the Middle East,” he said. "We want to establish brotherly ties with all countries of the region ... Iran has never started any aggression in the region.”
"Those regional states that believe Israel and America can establish security are wrong. We, the Muslims, should ensure the regional security,” Rouhani said, to chants of "Death to America,” and "Death to Israel”.
Rouhani’s previous overtures to Saudi Arabia, such as after his election in 2013 and efforts by his Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif in 2017, have had no success.
Iran says Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are supporting Takfiri groups that carry out attacks against Iranian forces, including a terrorist bombing on Wednesday in Iran’s southeastern province that borders Pakistan.
Rouhani said the Iranian nation will "undoubtedly avenge” the attack as he lamented the "wrong” policies of some of Iran’s neighbors. "Terrorists should know that our nation will undoubtedly avenge the blood of these dear martyrs.”
The president said, "We do not and will not allow the criminal mercenaries, who are armed and funded by outsiders and who killed our dear IRGC forces and brave border guards, to escape revenge.”
Rouhani spoke after a number of Middle Eastern neighbors attended an "anti-Iran" conference in Poland that was also attended by the U.S. and the occupying regime of Israel.
Rouhani said the U.S. approach towards Iran was doomed to failure. "We will not succumb to pressure from America and Israel."
The president hit out at attempts by certain powers to sow discord among various ethnicities, religions, and nations in the Middle East. He said the region does not need a U.S. presence, adding the sooner foreign forces pull out of the region, the greater stability and security will follow.