Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assails Israel and the West at his appearance at the United Nations in New York, his country’s military claims it has developed a domestic-built reconnaissance drone with a range of about 1250 miles, meaning it can cover much of the Middle East. Reuters

While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assails Israel and the West at his appearance at the United Nations in New York, his country’s military claims it has developed a domestic-built reconnaissance drone with a range of about 1250 miles, meaning it can cover much of the Middle East.

According to Iran state media, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guard, the drone, named Shahed-129, can remain aloft for 24 hours and has twice the range of previous drones deployed by Tehran.

The guard also indicated the drone could be equipped with missiles and bombs.

Iran’s military has also fired four anti-ship missiles ahead of scheduled naval war games, apparently in response to drills recently conducted by the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf.

Hajizadeh previously warned that in the event Israel launches a strike on Iran to destroy its nuclear power plants, the Iranian military would similarly undertake retaliatory strikes on both Israel and U.S. bases in the region.