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Iran forecasts it will reach annual aluminium ingot production of 1.5mn tonnes/yr by 2025.
9.1.12 Defence sector news
Iran boasts of “superpower” prowess in weapons production
Iranian officials have in recent weeks briefed local media on their claims that Iran is now a “superpower” in terms of weapons and military equipment production.
One report in Hamshahri followed the showcasing of new weaponry developed by domestic defence manufacturers, with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and anti-aircraft weapons given the limelight. Some models were said to be technologically superior to Russian, Chinese and North Korean alternatives. Iran can most particularly claim to be a drone production “superpower”, the report said, adding that it was one of a few countries boasting a huge variety of UAVs, with some of the largest models known to the market and also small drones.
Various media reports described how Iran now claims it is able to launch rockets in multiple directions from one location, with various missiles and drones all controlled from one command centre.
At the exhibition, Iran also demonstrated several of its latest long-range radars, again domestically produced.
One exhibition highlight was the RQ-170 drone, captured from the US in a regional ‘radar capture’ operation and safely landed in Iran in 2011. Iranian engineers have over the years reverse-engineered aspects of the drone to develop their own drone models, officials said.
Iran has indicated that it would like to move ahead with the purchase of the Russian-made advanced S-400 missile defence system now that a UN conventional arms embargo against Tehran is no longer in effect (although the US disputes that, claiming it has unilaterally been able to keep it alive). Russia’s Ambassador to Tehran, Levan Dzhagaryan, lately told Iranian media that Moscow would have no issues in exporting the S-400 to Iran.
“As you know, [surface-to-air missile system] S-300s were delivered [to Iran]. Russia has no problems with the supply of S-400s, and there were no problems from the very beginning,” the diplomat said in an interview with Resalat.
Moscow was not afraid of threats from Washington that countries selling weapons to Iran would face sanctions, the envoy added.
Moscow and Tehran signed a contract for the supply of the S-300s, worth around $900mn, back in 2007. The UN arms embargo followed shortly after, but the Russians sent a first batch of S-300s to Iran in direct contravention of the weapons trading ban.
9.1.13 Utilities & power sector news
Iran ‘to hit 1GW of renewable energy capacity in eight months time’
Iran's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) predicts the country will hit one gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of renewable energy capacity by August 2021, Mehr News Agency reported on December 9.
Iran’s government and private companies have ploughed considerable investment into a range of small, medium and large solar field arrays and wind generation, which the country lends itself to due to its climate and topography. Mohammad Satakin, director of SATBA, reportedly said the organisation has signed 36 contracts with private companies for the guaranteed purchase of 438MW of capacity from 159 solar and wind power plants.
52 IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com
