PRoductIon oF LocALLy-dESIgnEd FIgHtER JEt bEgInS

DUBAI — Iran has started production of the locally-designed Kowsar fighter plane for use in its air force, state television reported, as tensions mount with the US after the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.

“Soon the needed number of this plane will be produced and put at the service of the Air Force,” Defence Minister Amir Hatami said on Saturday.

Iran says the Kowsar is “100per cent indigenously made” and able to carry various weapons and is to be used for short aerial support missions.