TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s Defense Ministry is developing a new military vehicle that will come into service in the near future, Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said.
The ministry has also signed contracts with Iranian carmakers to manufacture critical high-tech auto parts whose production has been halted due to the withdrawal of foreign companies since the U.S. reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, he said.
In November 2018, the Defense Ministry unveiled a domestically-built armored military vehicle named Toofan (hurricane).
Toofan has been delivered to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s ground forces.
The four-wheel drive truck is protected against land mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The high-mobility multipurpose truck is also resistant to steel-core bullets and can move in difficult terrain, drive through 1.5 meters of water and climb barriers as high as 50 centimeters.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.
On Monday, the IRGC’s navy forces took delivery of new equipment used for defense in modern warfare.
The new equipment, delivered in a ceremony in the southern city of Shiraz, included military gear used for detection and protection against chemical, biological and radiological warfare.
Addressing the event, IRGC Navy commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri described Iran as one of the biggest victims of chemical weapons.
He said many Iranian soldiers and civilians were martyred or injured by chemical weapons used by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his war on Iran in the 1980s.
The Defense Ministry also opened an exhibition in Shiraz to showcase Iran-made products for defense in modern warfare.
In comments in November 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei urged Iran’s armed forces to boost their military capabilities and preparedness in such a way that the enemies would not ever dare to think of threatening the country.