SI | STOP-Imperialism.com

Yusef Jalali 
Press TV, Isfahan

Iran's Defense Ministry has unveiled a series of domestically-built military vehicles. The ministry says with the new cars, it has diversified its defense arsenal, which has been under four decades of sanctions imposed by Washington.

From undulating terrains to man-made roadblocks, these gigantic tactical cars have to go through all kinds of tests to be introduced into service in Iran's military.

Iran's Defense Ministry says the vehicles are produced from A to Z by experts at the ministry.

This huge armored vehicle is dubbed Ra'ad. The driver of this car is absolutely safe in case of an explosion, as its producers say it is mine-resistant and ambush-protected.

Aras-2 is another tactical vehicle unveiled by the Defense Ministry. The high mobility personnel carrier is capable of passing through water canals with the depth of 1.5 meters, as well as vertical obstacles as high as half a meter.

Iran's defense minister says the ministry can act as an auxiliary arm to Iran's automotive industry in the supply of auto parts that are in the list of the US sanctions.

Iran has been under four decades of arms embargo imposed by the US. The sanctions have prompted the country to build up its defense industry by relying on domestic know-how. Iran says today, it has become self-sufficient in over 80 percent of its defense arsenal, from drones and fighter jets to missiles and now tactical vehicles.

With the Defense Ministry stepping into the production of operational vehicles, experts say this trend can be applied to the country's auto industry, in which case, it would be safe to claim that Iran would be able to produce its own cars on par with renowned international brands, without being affected by US sanctions.