How dangerous is Iran's new bomber drone?

Iran unveiled a domestically built, long-range pilotless bomber on Sunday — the latest in a series of new weapons that have raised international tensions over Iran's nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the 13-foot Karrar ("striker") drone — capable of carrying four cruise missiles up to 600 miles, according to state-owned media — an "ambassador of death" to his country's enemies. The news came as Iran began loading fuel rods at its first nuclear power plant, increasing speculation that the Islamic republic is close to building a nuclear bomb. How alarmed should the world be about Iran's new drone? (Watch a Fox report about Iran's drone)

Iran's "ambassador of death" is no reason to panic: This doesn't mean Tehran will be bombing Tel Aviv any time soon, says Noah Shachtman at Wired. For one thing, it's "really unlikely" that "a relative pipsqueak like the Karrar" could lug four cruise missiles, which weigh at least 1,000 pounds each — a single 500-pound bomb is more realistic. And with a range of 600 miles, it can't even reach Israel.

"Iran's 'ambassador of death' is more envoy of annoyance"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

We can't ignore the warnings from Iran any longer: It's time to admit that "toothless sanctions" won't rein in Iran, says Beth Shaw at Right Pundits. It is now a nuclear nation with an arsenal growing more sophisticated by the day, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't even bothering to hide his dream of an "apocalyptic" showdown with the West. The time has come to take out this threat by force.

"Iran 'ambassador of death' bomber unveiled"

If war comes, it's our fault: Here we go again, says John V. Walsh at Antiwar.com. "The hoax of weapons of mass destruction, most notably nuclear weapons, was employed to frighten the American public into a war on Iraq. And now the same is being done with Iran." Iran knows it's in America's crosshairs, and it's only acting tough to convince Washington that a fight would be more trouble than it's worth.

"'Countdown to Zero' — or to war on Iran?"