DUBAI — Iran unveiled on Tuesday what it said was an upgraded short-range missile and said it would build a new air defense site, in what appeared to be an attempt to show its readiness against any Israeli attack. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi attended a ceremony at which officials unveiled the fourth-generation Fateh 110 short-range missile, with a range of about 300 km, and other upgraded hardware. Ahmadinejad said Iran's military upgrades were purely for defensive purposes and should not be taken as a threat, but said they would dissuade world powers from imposing their will on Iran. “Defensive advances are meant to defend human integrity, and are not meant to be offensive moves toward others,” Ahmadinejad said, according to Mehr news agency. Separately, Iran announced the start of construction on an air defense site, to be built in the south of the country about 210 km from its uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan, officials said. The 200-hectare air defense installation in the Abadeh area would be the largest in that part of the country and will be built by Khatam Al-Anbia, the engineering arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and will eventually employ 6,000 people, Fars reported. Paul Beaver, a London-based defense analyst, said Tuesday's moves appear to be geared at showing the world Iran is prepared for an attack on its nuclear facilities, and said Iran had been able to upgrade air defense systems. “We have seen 20 years of development of the Iranian air defense system,” Beaver said. “I believe that Iran is a very hard nut to crack.” — Reuters
