Iran tested home-made air defence systems Wednesday during military exercises, state media said, days after the expiry of an international arms embargo against the Islamic republic.
The manoeuvres -- dubbed "Defenders of the Sky" -- took place in "an area covering half of the country's surface", state television's Iribnews website reported.
They came after Tehran ruled Sunday that a UN arms embargo on its weapons had expired under the terms of the international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Iran said Monday it was more inclined to sell weapons rather than buy them, after announcing the end of the longstanding embargo.
"In these exercises, the new generation systems of the army and Revolutionary Guard have shown their strength by relying on the power" of local production, said Iribnews.
The website said targets at medium and high altitudes were shot down by Iran's Khordad 3 and Khordad 15 air defence systems and that fighter jets took part in the manoeuvres.
"Our forces have achieved all the objectives set," General Qader Rahimzadeh, who is commanding the exercises, told state television.
The lifting of the arms embargo allows Iran to buy and sell military equipment including tanks, armoured vehicles, combat aircraft, helicopters and heavy artillery.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that his country did not intend to engage in an "arms race in the region".
In May 2018, President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, saying it did not offer sufficient guarantees to stop Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb. Iran has always denied it wants such a weapon.
AFP
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