Gulf Daily News (Link) (February 20, 2010)
Iran�s navy yesterday launched its first domestically made destroyer in a ceremony attend by the supreme leader and the commander-in-chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The vessel has a displacement of around 14,000 tonnes and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities, a report said.
�Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles with a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad,� the report added. �The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons.�
State television also showed footage of the vessel and the ceremony at which it was launched by Khamenei flanked by the top Iranian military commanders.
From the deck of the destroyer, Khamenei criticised the US military presence in the Gulf and said Washington was trying to frighten Iran�s neighbours so it could sell them weapons.
Khamenei made the comments after being given a tour of Jamaran. State television said the warship was the country�s first domestically built destroyer and a major technological leap for Iran�s naval industries.
Khamenei declared that America and Israel were trying to sow divisions between Iran and Arab nations. �The US and the Zionist regime are trying to spread divisions to distract the attention of Islamic nations from the main enemies of the Islamic world, which are the US and Israel,� Khamenei said.