New Iranian Air Force Chief

From Press TV:

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has called on the newly-appointed Iranian Air Force chief to further enhance the fleet's equipment.

In a Monday decree, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi as the new chief commander of Iran's Air Force, replacing Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani.

In response to Western threats of a military air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Leader called for concerted efforts to further upgrade and promote Iran's Air Force military equipment.

[…]

Earlier in August, former commander of Iran's Air Force, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, announced that the country had revamped its fighter jet fleet to fly distances of allowing Iranian aircraft to fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling.

Miqani was an IRIAF F-14 pilot. Web sources point out that recent IRIAF air exercises were abruptly cancelled.

Iranian Border Guards in Hoor, Khuzestan

Iran's Commanders V: Military Gathering in Tehran

Iranian Generals and Admirals gather in Tehran. Note specifics for uniforms of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Safir Rocket Launch Video

General Jazayeri: Potential for World War

From Yahoo News:

A senior Iranian military commander has warned that any US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic would start a world war, the state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

"Any aggression against Iran will start a world war," deputy chief of staff for defence publicity, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, said in a statement carried by the agency.

"The unrestrained greed of the US leadership and global Zionism... is gradually leading the world to the edge of a precipice," Jazayeri said, citing the unrest in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and Georgia.

"It is evident that if such a challenge occurs, the fake and artificial regimes will be eliminated before anything," he said, without naming any countries.

Jazayeri's comments are noteworthy, particularly his references to conflicts in the region-Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and Georgia-and their linkage to a potential conflict with Iran, scaled in terms of a world war.

Top photo: Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri (source Press TV)

Iran's Install of S-300 Missile Defense System

From Fars News Agency:

An Israeli think tank claimed that Iran will install an advanced air defense system the country bought from Russia next year. The report said the S-300PMU-2 air defense system will be deployed in 2009 and it will be operational by the middle of the next year.

The report by the Institute for Contemporary Affairs said the S-300 would complement other Russian air defense systems in Iran, particularly the TOR-M1.

"The S-300 system, which has a radius of over 90 miles and effective altitudes of about 90,000 feet, is capable of tracking up to 100 targets simultaneously," the World Tribune quoted the report as saying on Wednesday.

"It is considered one of the best in the world and is amazingly versatile. It is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missile warheads," it added.

The report said the deployment of the defense system in Iran will hamper any US and Israeli plans to launch an attack against the country.

"The deployment of the anti-aircraft shield next spring, if it occurs, effectively limits the window in which Israel or the United States could conduct an effective aerial campaign aimed at destroying, delaying or crippling the Iranian nuclear program," the report added.

"Many of the Iranian targets are fortified, and will require bunker busters," the report said.

"Operational challenges abound. Israel's EW planes, needed to suppress anti-aircraft batteries, are slow and unarmed, and could become a target for Iranian anti-aircraft missiles or even fighter sorties," Ariel Cohen, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, said.

Safir IRILV

Pics of Safir IRILV (Islamic Republic of Iran Launch Vehicle).

Strait of Hormuz Threat Assessment

From Carah Ong’s Iran Nuclear Watch:

The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin has produced a new online resource entitled "Strait of Hormuz: Assessing Threats to Energy Security in the Persian Gulf." The resource can be accessed here.

According to the website, the project is intended to help assess the threat to oil flows through the Strait. It provides background on the political, economic, business, technical, and military issues involved in potential disruptions. Oil producers, tanker and insurance companies, and regional and global military forces would all react to any attack on Persian Gulf shipping.

The site offers a brief section on Iran, its military, weapons, conflict scenarios and threat assessment.

To Our Readers

Due to work commitments and frequent travel by one of the authors and health condition of the other author, we unfortunately need to suspend our blog activities effective today. We will resume our work as soon as we can.

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Uskowi on Iran

To Our Readers

Uskowi on Iran is on an unavoidable vacation for the week.

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