Iran to test 2,000-lb. smart bomb

TEHRAN, March 1 (UPI) -- Iranian air force officials announced Monday that they planned to test-fire a new 2,000-pound smart bomb amid growing acrimony in the Gulf.

Brig. Gen. Hassan Shahsafi, the commander of the Iranian air force, told the Fars News Agency that his forces would test a 2,000-pound smart bomb "in the near future."

Shahsafi said the smart bomb, dubbed Qassed-2, has a longer range and better "vision" systems than the earlier version. Iran tested the Qassed-1 in 2006.

His comments come amid a stalemate over Iran's nuclear intentions. The International Atomic Energy, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said Monday that it could not confirm the peaceful intent of Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Michele Flournoy, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, said in early February that Washington was revamping its defensive stance in the Middle East by deploying anti-missile shields to the Persian Gulf in an effort to deter a looming threat from Iran.

Shahsafi downplayed the move, saying it was nothing more than the Washington status quo.

"That is not a new development," he said." They had previously deployed and tested the systems in other places and gained no (positive) results."

Tehran announced in February that it would enrich uranium to 20 percent, seen as a technological breakthrough on the path toward a nuclear weapon.