The Iranian Navy has successfully test-fired a new missile from its first indigenously-built Jamaran destroyer in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The surface-to-surface Nour missile successfully hit its target at a distance of 100 kilometers in the test-fire on Tuesday.

However, military officials announced plans to build an upgraded version of the missile with a range of 300 kilometers.

Jamaran, a multi-mission and guided-missile destroyer, has been launched by the Leader of the Islamic Ummah and Mustazafins Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in February.

The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 1,420 tons and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities.

It can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles.

The Iranian Navy plans to add a second home-built destroyer to its fleet within the next two years.

The Iranian Navy also announced that with the successful testing of the Nour missile, the Jamaran destroyer is all ready to engage in peaceful missions in international waters.

Iran’s Defense Ministry has introduced a new domestically-manufactured cruise missile that will significantly improve the deterrence capabilities of the Iranian military forces.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the production line, Defense Minister Brigadier-General Ahmad Vahidi said that the Nasr (Victory) missile was able to eliminate targets of up to 300 tons.

The short-range cruise missile can be launched from both inland bases and offshore military vessels.

New features will be added to the missile in the near future, he said, making it suitable for launch from helicopters and submarines.

According to the minister, once delivered to Iran’s naval forces, the missile would greatly complement the country’s defensive power.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday arrived in Rasht, northern Iran to inaugurate a massive oncology medicine factory.

The factory is the largest in Middle East. The President also unveiled a memorial stamp which depicts the scientific accomplishment.

Built and commissioned within an area of 25000 square meters at a cost of 450b rials, the factory at present offers 6 types of medicine and would expand the pharmacy to 35 in two years.

Iran plans to test a “more powerful and accurate” generation of a 2000-pound guided-bomb with a “longer range,” Air Force commander Brigadier General Hassan Shah Safi said Monday.

The new bomb is the improved version of Qassed-1, meaning Herald, which was first tested in 2006.

“The Qassed-1 guided-bomb has been mass produced and left at the disposal of the Air Force … its new generation will be test-fired soon,” Fars news agency quoted Brig. Gen. Shah Safi as saying.

Qassed-2, he said, has a longer range, more accuracy and enjoys more explosive power than its previous version.

Researchers at Iran’s National Center for Oceanography (INCO) have produced electricity by a class of energy-producing microbes living deep in the sea.

The INCO has made the country 14th to access the technology and go green in terms of energy generation.

“Such microbes can convert organic matter into electrical energy. Iranian researchers built a simple battery to collect the electricity generated by the micro-organic creatures,” said Peyman Eqtesadi head of biological researches group in INCO.

“The microbes were responsible for generating electricity. Iranian researchers have designed and produced special cells to harvest ocean energy,” Eqtesadi told IRNA.

The microorganisms break down the large organic molecules in the mud into acetate. They transfer electrons from the acetate molecules to the graphite electrode, generating a current.

“The cells are placed in Chabahar Bay, located northern Indian Ocean. The technology also aims clean the environment by decomposing and disintegrating pollutants during the electricity generating process,” he said.

Electricity-generating bacteria have attracted intensive studies in recent years as an important resource for energy generation.

Two days after its launch, Iran’s domestically-manufactured Jamaran destroyer has completed its first mission in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The indigenously-designed and developed guided missile destroyer fired against imaginary air and land targets on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Jamaran began patrolling southern Persian Gulf waters before army commandos successfully landed on its deck.

Iran launched on Friday the 1,420 ton destroyer, equipped with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles.

The Navy plans to add a second domestically manufactured destroyer to its fleet some time within the next two years.

Iran’s first locally-made naval destroyer dubbed Jamaran started its first mission in Persian Gulf on Sunday.

“The destroyer has joined Iran’s martial units and it started its first mission in southern waters of the country on Sunday,” ISNA quoted Fariborz Ghaderpanah, a navy official, as saying.

Iran navy launched the first indigenous destroyer on Friday in a ceremony attended by the Leader of Islamic Ummah Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The guided-missile destroyer is equipped with anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles as well as torpedoes and naval cannons.

The 94-meter (308-foot) destroyer weighs 1,500 tons and has a helipad and modern radar. The ship has a top speed of 30 knots and can carry 120 to 140 personnel.

Iran has called this achievement as a major technological leap for its naval industries.

The Islamic republic has declared many such advances in its military industries and sciences to demonstrate self-sufficiency.

Iran produced double-deck subway carriage for the first time in the region.

The production line started 18 month ago and the first compartment was delivered to Tehran subway system Sunday.

About 27m dollars have been invested in setting up the production line which at present produces six carriages every month.

All required materials for the production line is made in the country and the carriages are made according to European standards.

An Iranian naval commander says the Navy will be adding a second domestically manufactured destroyer to its fleet some time in the next two years.

Commodore Amir Rastegari, who heads the Navy’s industrial command, made the announcement hours after Iran launched its first locally-made 1,420 ton Jamaran destroyer, equipped with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles.

“Work continues on a new destroyer. In the next two years, a second Iranian manufactured vessel will be delivered to the Navy,” he said.

Rastegari added that the Jamaran destroyer was completed in spite of Western efforts to hinder its manufacturing process.

“The Jamaran destroyer was built at a time when foreign naval fleets were increasing their presence in the region. In other words, it was built as they watched on with bewilderment,” he explained.

Explaining the complexities of its construction, the commodore went on to say that the vessel’s launch marked the beginning of a new era in Iran’s defense industries.

According to Rastegari, over 120 scientific and technological institutions participated in the Jamaran project.

Going into detail, the naval official added that the destroyer is the first vessel manufactured by Iran that was built by combining several segments to form the hull. “The destroyer’s hull is made up of 29 parts which were connected by the most sophisticated methods in this industry,” he explained.

He noted that the Jamaran could be categorized as a frigate class ship.

Iranian officials say only a few countries have the technological know-how to devise the main systems that are needed to build a destroyer of this class.

Official announcements indicate that over 1,400,000 parts, devices and sophisticated internal machinery have been incorporated into the Jamaran Destroyer.

Iran’s Navy on Friday took the delivery of the first indigenously designed and developed guided missile destroyer Jamaran in the presence of the leader of the Islamic Ummah and Opressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 1,420 tonnes and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities.

Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles.

It has a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad.

The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons. The destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries.

More ships in its class are under construction.

A Canadian firm evaluating the global output of science and technology says scientific advancements in Iran have grown 11 times faster than any other country in the world.

Science-Metrix — a Montreal-based company dedicated to the quantitative and qualitative evaluation and measurement of science, technology and innovation — has released its most recent report on “geopolitical shifts in knowledge creation” since 1980, Newscientist reported on Thursday.

In the report, Science-Metrix says the number of scientific publications listed in the Web of Science database shows that the standard growth in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Turkey, is nearly four times faster than the world average.

“Iran is showing fastest worldwide growth in science,” said Eric Archambault, who authored the report.

“Asia is catching up even more rapidly than previously thought, Europe is holding its position more than most would expect, and the Middle East is a region to watch,” he added.

According to Archambaut, while Iran’s publications have somewhat emphasized on nuclear chemistry and particle physics, the country has also made significant progress in medical science and agriculture development.

Archambaut said Iran’s technological advancements this year have been to an extent that they may even outshine those of China, whose prominence in world science is known to have been growing.

Despite more than thirty years of Western-imposed sanctions, Iran has made great strides in different sectors, including aerospace, nuclear science, medical development, as well as stem cell and cloning research.

Among the country’s most recent accomplishments, which has garnered international acclaim, was the February 2 launch of Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer 3) satellite carrier into space with living organisms — a rat, two turtles and worms — onboard.

In January 2010, the country became the first Middle Eastern country to produce transgenic animals, such as sheep and goats that express foreign proteins in their milk and are, therefore, considered valuable sources of protein for human therapy.

Also Iran has become one of the few countries that have the technology and the means to clone farm animals, which could lead to advances in medical research, including using cloned animals to produce human antibodies against diseases.

A lamb named ‘Royana’, a kid named ‘Hanna’ and two calves named ‘Bonyana’ and ‘Tamina’ were the first animals successfully cloned in the country.

A number of Iranian companies active in the nanotechnology sector displayed their products in an exhibition in Japan.

The biggest international nanotechnology exhibit themed ‘Japan Nanotechnology 2010′ opened in Tokyo on Wednesday with the participation of 19 countries including Iran.

Iranian companies participating in the event, include Behboud Nirou, Nanopars Spadana and Pars Nanosystem companies.

This is for the third consecutive time Iran attends the event. Iran has joined the 19 top countries in the field.

Presence in the exhibit, which is the greatest of its kind, is not that simple because the participants should be qualified for that.

Iran’s pavilions in the three-day exhibit have been set up in an area of 70 square meters in the vicinity of those of Germany and Finland.

Iran’s nuclear point man Ali-Akbar Salehi says that much to the West’s surprise, Tehran will produce nuclear fuel plates within the next few months.

Iran on Tuesday announced that it started enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent after potential suppliers failed to provide fuel for Tehran’s research reactor which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran could not wait for Western countries to “waste time” because the Tehran research reactor will soon run out of fuel.

Two days after that, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that Iran had successfully produced the first stock of the 20-percent enriched uranium.

Western countries reacted with cynicism to Iran’s declaration, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner describing the plan as a political bluff.

Kouchner claimed that Iran does not have the ability to enrich uranium to 20 percent and accused Tehran of “blackmail.”

Salehi, Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, dismissed Kouchner’s remarks and assured him that Iran would produce the plates within the next few months.

He wondered why Western countries were concerned over Iran’s declaration while they claimed that Tehran lacked the ability to enrich uranium to higher levels.

According to Salehi, Iran had the potential to enrich uranium to higher levels but preferred to buy the required fuel considering certain “economic and political reasons.”

Iran’s willingness to purchase the fuel, however, was misinterpreted as lack of Iran’s expertise in nuclear technology, he said.

Iran’s top nuclear official asserted that Iran could surely enrich uranium to higher levels, saying that the country was a nuclear forerunner among Muslim countries.

White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs Thursday cast doubt on the announcement that Iran produced the first batch of 20 percent uranium.

“The Iranian nuclear program has undergone a series of problems throughout the year,” Gibbs said. “We do not believe they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they now say they are enriching.”

Iran says it is still open to talks on a fuel swap with the West. Iran has, however, reiterated that its “conditions”, mainly revolving around guarantee issues, have to be taken into account if the West is interested on a fuel exchange with Iran.

Iran owes its aerospace achievements entirely to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, says Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, only a week after the country placed its third satellite carrier into orbit.

“Today Iran has emerged as one of the top ten forerunners in the field of space research and technology,” said Vahidi in a Thursday address to a rally commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

“Our stellar progress in space science is only one of the many benefits derived from the victory of the Islamic Revolution more than thirty years ago,” he added.

According to Vahidi, the Islamic Revolution has also helped Iran become a strategic power in the region — an event which has troubled Western superpowers.

Iran’s aerospace industry has made great strides in the past couple of years. The country marked a breakthrough on February 2 after launching the Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer 3) satellite carrier into space with living organisms — a rat, two turtles and worms — onboard.

Kavoshgar 3, which carries an experimental capsule, has the ability to transfer telemetric information, live pictures as well as flight and environmental analysis data.

Iran went down in history, in February 2009, for placing its domestically-made satellite into orbit and thus joining a small group of countries that have the ability of both producing satellites and sending them into space using domestic launchers.

The Omid data-processing satellite was designed to circle the Earth 15 times every 24 hours and to transmit data via two frequency bands and eight antennas to an Iranian space station.

The country is currently studying preliminary plans to send its very first astronaut into orbit in near future.

Iran’s space-related accomplishments have come as a surprise for European powers and the US, mainly because the country has been under Western sanctions for nearly 30 years.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday Iran has produced the first stock of uranium enriched to 20 percent for a research reactor in Tehran.

“We have produced the first stock of 20 percent enriched uranium at the Natanz enrichment facility,” Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd of people in Tehran’s Azadi Square.

The crowd had gathered to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Millions of people attended the rally to celebrate the overthrowing of the Shah regime, a US-backed monarchy.

In his address, President Ahmadinejad said the nuclear program remains under the full supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog, adding that the country has the capability to enrich uranium to levels higher than 20 percent.

Iran says the program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses the country of seeking to develop nuclear weaponry.

In an allusion to the allegation, President Ahmadinejad said building an atomic bomb is impossible under UN supervision.

“Nuclear bombs will be built by those who are not signatories to the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] NPT,” he said, accusing the West of nuclear double standards.

“We do not seek nuclear weapons. We are brave enough to admit it.”

The remarks come as the Obama administration has stepped up its anti-Iran rhetoric, calling on its allies to back a White House initiative to impose fresh sanctions against the country over a delayed nuclear fuel swap deal.

Under the proposal, Iran sought to buy the fuel required for the research reactor in Tehran, which produces medical isotopes. However, West’s inflexibility in negotiations prompted President Ahmadinejad to decide to take measures to produce the fuel domestically.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unveiled the electric version of Iran’s national car Samand which is produced by the Middle East’s leading automaker, IKCO.

With the maximum velocity of 140 kilometers per hour, the electric Samand can travel 200-km before it needs recharging, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday.

Through producing the electric Samand, Iran has joined top producers of electric cars in the world.

The car was unveiled in the Presidential Office.

A senior Iranian commander has announced that the country has developed a new system to distract missiles.

Deputy Commander of Iran’s Air Force Gen. Seyyed Mohammad Alavi said that the system prevents missiles from hitting their targets.

He stated that Iran’s Air Force has made great achievements in the production of smart ammunition and long-range weapons.

Alavi noted that Iran will mass-produce the new weapons and ammunition to boost its deterrence.

Earlier in February, the Air Force announced that it has successfully tested the prototype of its first domestically-built stealth drone.

“The drone, due to its physical attributes and the material used in its body, cannot be detected by any radar,” Air Force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said.

Iran on Tuesday inaugurated the production lines of 120mm and 130 mm mortar shells, a breakthrough in the field of military hi-tech under the US and British monopoly.

“The base-build 130mm munitions are among much needed and used by the Armed Forces, which is today mass-produced completely domestically and as a result of the efforts made by our experts at the Defense Industries Organization,” Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said at an inauguration ceremony to mark the start of operation by the production lines of the two mortar shells.

Noting that the two mortar shells use solid fuel and can be used for desert artilleries, Vahidi reiterated that in addition to the mass-production of the munitions, the range of the mortar shells has also been increased by 30%.

Elsewhere, he referred to the capabilities of the 120mm mortar shell named as ‘Hesh’, and said it can be used in tanks and can destroy battle strongholds and targets.

“These mortar shells enjoy such a high explosive power that if they hit an area close to an armored vehicle, they will damage the inner equipments and shock the crew inside the vehicle,” Vahidi added.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran, to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

The Iranian defense ministry on Saturday inaugurated production lines of a new anti-armor missile, ‘Toufan 5′ (Hurricane), and an anti-chopper missile, ‘Qaem’, both with high penetration and destructive powers.

“The Toufan 5 missile is one of the most advanced anti-armor missiles which has two warheads and is capable of destroying armored vehicles, tanks and personnel carriers due to its high penetration power,” Vahidi said at the time.

Elsewhere, Vahidi referred to the capabilities of Qaem missiles, and said the semi-heavy guided missile can destroy targets flying at low speeds and altitudes, specially the aggressive choppers equipped with armor-like bodies.

He also boasted that Qaem missiles are not prone to enemy’s electronic warfare as they are laser-guided.

In response to the US military buildup in the Persian Gulf, Iran will soon launch a domestically-built air defense system to counter the ballistic missile threat in the future.

On Tuesday, more than a week after Washington started ramping up its military hardware in the Persian Gulf region, senior Air Force Commander Mohammad-Hassan Mansourian announced that the country will set up a sophisticated system “to detect and deter ballistic missiles” before they reach their targets.

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to how strong your air command is,” Mansourian told Fars News Agency. “The better your air deterrence capabilities, the more chances you have to gain the upper hand in combat.”

Mansourian said Iran’s military and government officials have emphasized on the need to strengthen the defenses around vital spots, particularly the country’s various nuclear sites.

“To protect our nuclear installations, particularly the ones in Tehran and Esfahan, we have devised a set of defense strategies to sabotage any attempt or plan to attack us,” he said.

The Iranian commander said it is of utmost importance to reduce the effectiveness of a planned strike, be it on the country’s nuclear sites or any other sensitive location.

After years of accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons, Washington has taken silent steps in the past weeks to upgrade its missile systems and war machine in the Persian Gulf, under the pretext of defending its regional allies against missile strikes by Iran.

The US allegations come despite insistence by Iran that neither its missile program, nor its uranium enrichment pose a threat to regional stability.

On a different note, Mansourian said the growing threat of cruise missiles could be easily neutralized by studying the enemy’s standard methods of using these weapons in recent warfare and also by building applicable ground-based systems such as heavy artillery units.

His remarks come one day after Heshmatollah Kassiri, another senior military official, announced that Iran has plans to develop an air defense system that is comparable to and even more sophisticated than the advanced Russian S-300 system.

“The domestically-built air defense system, which will be unveiled in the near future, is as powerful as the S-300 system, or even stronger,” IRNA quoted Heshmatollah Kassiri as saying.

The Iranian Health Minister has said that the country produces 97 percent of its own medicine and imports only 3 percent of its pharmaceuticals.

“Iran is producing 97 percent of the prescribed and non-prescribed medicine needed in the country. We are importing no more than 3 percent of medicine (needed domestically) to Iran,” Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi told IRIB.

“The Health Ministry is planning to gain full independence in the field and cover that small portion,” Iran’s minister of health added.

A total of nine major drug companies are producing the ingredients for 170 types of medicine in Iran.

“Imported medicine costs 5-to-10 times more than medicine produced domestically. The health ministry aims to cover the existing gap and save large amounts of funds,” Dastjerdi noted.