Page 47 - IRANRptNov18

This latest face-off between Iranian patrol vessels claiming supremacy over the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman follows Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, pledging in August that he would “confront hostile countries”. The strait, which connects the Persian Gulf, with the Indian Ocean has become a sensitive matter in recent months with Iran warning that it might prevent energy exports from being shipped through the channel should the US damage its crude oil shipments with its attempted worldwide embargo on Iranian oil, due to take effect on November 5.
During the incident, the Iranian speedboats reportedly demanded the HMS Dragon warship and the other vessels remain 1,000 yards (0.9 kilometres) clear of port side. HMS Dragon sounded a horn to warn off the Iranian assault vessels, while the Iranians responded that they were “here to safeguard our national sovereignty and we are doing our routine operations (in the area)”.
The Iranians unveiled their first "made-in-Iran" fighter jet on August 21, with state media outlets all carrying video or photographs of President Hassan Rouhani sat in the cockpit. Test flights of the jet, named the Kowsar, took place on the eve of the August 22 National Day of the Defence Industry, semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.
Defence industry observers say Iran’s air force is relatively minor, given that it roughly comprises of just a few dozen strike aircraft, largely Russian or American planes acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The country has been forced to develop a domestic arms industry because international sanctions over the decades have prevented it from importing weapons.
The Kowsar can be used for "short aerial support missions", state media reports said, adding that it is equipped with systems that "promote precision targeting".
The jet is described as a fourth-generation fighter jet, classifying it among military fighters in service from approximately 1980 to the present day.
In terms of Iran’s military prowess, the US is perhaps presently mostly concerned with rapid-attack small boats armed with missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has indicated that in its sanctions fight with Washington it might move to block the sea passage that links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman to prevent energy exports making it on to world markets. That would be in retaliation for any major success the Trump administration has in convincing countries around the world to stop importing Iranian oil by November 4.
Days before the unveiling of the jet, Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami said Iran's military had mounted a locally-built defensive weapons system on one of its warships for the first time.
In a speech prior to the wraps coming off the Kowsar, Rouhani called on the Iranian military to strengthen their readiness in the face of enemy threats. Iran's military had a 2017 budget of $14.1bn, or 2.5% of the country’s GDP, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) figures show. That compares to the $610bn, or 3.1% of GDP, spent by the US on its defence budget in that year.
9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company (Hyundai E&C) has halted a $520mn deal with Iran’s Ahdaf Investment Company (AHDAF) to build petrochemicals production installations that would form the second phase of the Kangan Refining Complex, Business Korea daily reported
47 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com