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Iran parades new military arsenal

TEHRAN, April 18 (UPI) -- The Iranian military paraded its latest stealth drone and missile systems Thursday to mark National Army Day, a commander said.

Iran unveiled its Hazem-3 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, the Ya Zahra-3 and Mersad-2 missile systems and a mobile interception system dubbed Sayyad 40 during a military parade Thursday, state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

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Air force Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili said earlier the drone could be used for targeting or reconnaissance. The Iranian government said it's been able to reverse engineer captured drones operated by the U.S. military. No information was unveiled about missile range or payload capacity.

The parade comes as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed concerns about Iran's nuclear program. He told the BBC that Iran's ambitions pose a direct threat to the international community, which can be deterred only by a "direct military threat."

Nuclear negotiations with Iran have failed to yield breakthroughs.

Iranian Maj. Gen Ataollah Salehi said Israel and other aggressors are too weak to be considered a serious threat.

"The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran gives a swift and crushing response to any aggression by enemies against our country with full preparedness," he was quoted by Press TV as saying.

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