The Karrar tank is being hailed as a breakthrough in Iran’s military capabilities, with the country’s defence minister saying it could “compete with the most advanced tanks in the world” APIran has begun to mass produce a new battle tank as Tehran looks to reduce its reliance on Russian imports to bolster its military arsenal. The Karrar (striker) tank is being hailed as a breakthrough in Iran’s military capabilities, but it closely resembles the export version of Russia’s T90MS and comes months after Tehran formally suspended talks with Moscow on buying that model. “[The Karrar] can compete with the most advanced tanks in the world in the three main areas of power, precision and mobility, as well as maintenance and durability in the battleground,” Hossein Dehghan, the defence minister, told the semi-official Fars news agency. “The tank has the capability to fire missiles and precisely guide them.”Iran previously had turned to countries such as…

Source: The Times March 13, 2017 16:59 UTC