11 February 2009
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8711231428

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran has built a long-range anti-aircraft missile system
capable of intercepting and destroying multiple targets simultaneously,
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced
on Wednesday.

".(Iran) has built a long-range anti-aircraft system capable of spotting,
tracing, intercepting and destroying multiple targets simultaneously,"
Brigadier General Najjar said on the sidelines of visiting 'Inventions and
Innovations Exhibition' here in Tehran.

He also reiterated the home-grown nature of the technology used for
manufacturing different ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles in Iran,
saying that all the materials and parts employed in the country's missile
industries are Iranian.

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.