Published April 18, 2019
Iran celebrated its National Army Day on Thursday by showcasing domestically made fighter jets during a military parade that was broadcast on state TV.
Among the aircraft was the “Kowsar,” a twin-seater modeled after the American F-5 fighter jet. The jet’s name is an Islamic reference to a river in paradise and is also the title of a chapter in the Quran.
The parade also showcased the Saegheh, or "Thunderbolt," another domestically built fighter plane. Iran's air force already has U.S.-made and Russian-made Sukhoi aircraft in service.
TURKEY CRITICIZES US FOR DESIGNATING IRANIAN FORCE TERRORIST
The military parade comes amid rising tensions between Iran and President Trump, who earlier this month, formally labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a “foreign terrorist organization."
Speaking on live TV Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani insisted that Iran was not a threat to its neighbors and their national interests, but merely stood “against invaders…The roots of our problems are the Zionist regime and American imperialism.”
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-flies-domestically-made-fighter-jets-to-mark-army-day