Iran’s President orders new missile projects

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed into law a bill that lays the foundations for a new military organisation to develop ballistic missiles, the government-owned Fars news agency reported on Saturday. READ MORE

The Aerospace Industries of the Armed Forces (AIAF) will be formed by the Ministry of Defence to conduct “all activities related to research, planning, production, procurement, sale and maintenance of missile systems and the related technology”, Ahmadinejad, who is also chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, wrote to Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, himself a veteran Revolutionary Guards officer.

The new law authorises the AIAF to set up companies to facilitate procurement activities outside Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards already have a network of front companies operating in different countries to procure sensitive materials for the country’s nuclear and other military projects.