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Iran shows off might in military parade
2007-09-22
Threats and economic sanctions will not stop Iran's technological progress, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Saturday at a large parade of missiles and other weapons aimed at showing off the country's military might. The parade outside the capital Tehran marked the 27th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Iran that sparked the bloody 1980-88 war. It comes as the U.S. and its European allies continue discussing a third round of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. It also comes days before the hard-line Iranian president is to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York. "Those (countries) who assume that decaying methods such as psychological war, political propaganda and the so-called economic sanctions would work and prevent Iran's fast drive toward progress are mistaken," Ahmadinejad said. Iran launched an arms development program during its war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own jet fighters, torpedoes, radar-avoiding missiles, tanks and armored personnel carriers. Many such weapons were on display at the parade. Some of the trucks carrying Iranian missiles were painted at the back with popular slogans such as "Down with the U.S." and "Down with Israel." The parade also featured flights by two of Iran's new domestically manufactured fighter jets, known as the Saegheh, which means lightning in Farsi. "Those who prevented Iran, at the height of the (Iran-Iraq) war from getting even barbed wire must see now that all the equipment on display today has been built by the mighty hands and brains of experts at Iran's armed forces," Ahmadinejad said. Iran's Defense Minister Mostafa Mohmmad Najjar said the weapons and equipment shown in the parade were just a "small part of our capabilities." "With the production of various equipment, sanctions have become ineffective. We don't need foreigners," state TV quoted Najjar as saying Saturday. Ahmadinejad, who is to appear at a forum at Columbia University in New York on Monday and address the General Assembly on Tuesday, also repeated his call for foreign forces to leave the region and urged the United States to acknowledge it has failed in Iraq. "Nations throughout the region do not need the presence of the foreigners to manage their own needs. Foreign presence is the root cause of all instability, differences and threats," he said. The U.S. has accused Iran of sending arms and fighters to help Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq that target U.S. troops, and both British and American commanders have called the fight in parts of Iraq a "proxy war" by Iran. Tehran denies the accusations. The U.S. also is calling for more economic sanctions against Iran after two sets were imposed by the U.N. Security Council for Iran's decision not to stop uranium enrichment. Washington accuses Tehran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, including generating electricity. Iran has said it has managed to weather a broad U.S. embargo for 28 years, and while many Iranians acknowledge some hardships, they credit the embargo with making them more self-reliant. "Learn lessons from your past mistakes. Don't repeat your mistakes," Ahmadinejad said in a warning to the U.S. over its push to impose more sanctions.
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