The ten-day celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution began in Iran on Wednesday as thousands of Iranians brought flowers to the mausoleum of the republic’s founder.
The holiday traditionally coincides with demonstrations of the country's recent achievements, mainly in the military sphere. Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said that during this year’s celebrations Iran will test domestically developed “cruise missiles” and unveil other achievements of the country’s defense industry.
Earlier this week, Vahidi touted the development of laser-guided artillery projectiles, Basir (Insightful).
The smart shells, capable of hitting moving targets at a distance of up to 20 kilometers, are designed to destroy tanks, military vehicles, bridges, and other moving or non-moving targets with high precision, as well as identifying and locating targets, Vahidi was quoted by Press TV as saying.
A second project - the production line of first domestically developed flight recorder named Shahed (Witness), was praised by Vahidi as “another big step toward self-sufficiency for our defense industries.”
On January 29, Iran's defense minister said the Islamic Republic will soon unveil a new domestically-manufactured naval surveillance plane.
The Decade of Fajr celebrations will officially begin at 9:33 a.m. local time (06:03 GMT) on Monday, the exact time when Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to the country from exile. This date, along with February 11 and April 1 (the Islamic Republic Day), are the three major Islamic Revolution holidays.
The festivities will culminate on February 11, the date when revolutionary forces, led by Khomeini, defeated pro-government troops in armed street clashes.
