Iranian Weapon Roll-Out Continues

The nearly week-long display of military gimcracks by Iran is clear evidence that they are somewhat concerned about the possible intentions of the "Great Satan" as the U.S. is known in Ayatollah-speak.

Fearsome new weaponry is being introduced to the world stage at a fast and furious pace.

Iran successfully tested a "super-modern flying boat'' on Tuesday and the land-to-sea Kowsar missile that military analysts say is designed to sink ships in the Gulf, state media reported.

The tests came in the middle of Gulf war games that started on Friday. Iranian state radio said the Kowsar could evade radar and that its guidance system could not be scrambled.

The implied threat to oil tankers will not be taken lightly in Washington.

Iran rarely gives enough details of its military hardware for analysts to determine whether Tehran is making genuine advances or simply producing defiant propaganda while pressure ratchets up on its nuclear program.

Although Iran can draw on huge manpower, its naval and air-force technology is largely dismissed as obsolete.

The United States said it was possible Iran had developed weapons that could evade sonar and radar but warned the Islamic Republic had a tendency to "boast and exaggerate.''

Interesting in light of the acknowledged boastful and exaggerated claims by Iran that the U.S. media finds it newsworthy enough to prominently feature these reports of Iranian military developments. A cynic might see the dimmest outlines of an agenda in play.

The Revolutionary Guards, the elite branch of Iran's military, have been holding their maneuvers -- code-named the "Great Prophet" -- since Friday, touting what they call domestically built technological advances in their armed forces.

But some experts say it appears some of the technology has come from other countries, possibly Russia, and some experts also have questioned just how adept the missiles are at evading radar.

It is remarkable how seamlessly the anti-Russia info-op fits into the larger anti-Iran program. Synergies like this can enhance value in such an enterprise, credibility being the currency in psy-ops.

We will not have to wait long for the next installment in this saga, Iran plans to announce another new weapon, a missile, this afternoon.