Iran unveils new attack drone capable of bombing Israel ‘into the Stone Age’

Iran has threatened to bomb Israel “into the Stone Age” as it unveiled a new drone which it claimed was capable of striking nuclear facilities deep inside the Jewish state.

The Mohajer-10 was revealed this week with theatrical flair at a defence exhibition, accompanied by smoke machines and menacing music.

With a range of about 1,240 miles and the ability to stay in the air for an entire day, Tehran claims it could carry out bomb attacks on Israeli cities.

It is also armed with a 660lb explosive payload, double that of the previous Mohajer-6 model and can supposedly reach speeds of more than 130mph. “Mohajer” translates as “immigrant” in Persian.

A video publicising the new drone contained the caption “prepare your shelters” in both Hebrew and Farsi, while a poster showed it flying near the Dimona nuclear facility in Israel. “Be ready to travel to the Stone Age,” stated a caption on the poster – also in Hebrew.

The Dimona site is a secretive facility in the Negev desert which is believed to have produced Israel’s purported nuclear weapons stockpile. Israel has never confirmed if it has nuclear weapons as part of a policy of deliberate ambiguity.

The unveiling of a new drone will fuel concerns in the West that Iran and Israel are edging closer to direct military confrontation, despite a wider easing of hostilities in the Middle East between Tehran and its other rivals, notably Saudi Arabia.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, this week accused Iran of orchestrating a series of deadly attacks on his people in the occupied West Bank. He has also condemned a recent prisoner swap deal between the United States and Tehran which will release £4billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Iran continues to develop a nuclear programme which Israel regards as an existential threat, with Mr Netanyahu stepping up threats to launch decisive military action in recent months.

Israel is suspected of launching a flurry of targeted strikes on nuclear sites deep inside Iran from 2020-2022, including the assassination of Tehran’s chief nuclear scientist. This year, however, has seen far fewer attacks of that nature.

Last week, it emerged that Joe Biden, the US president, has launched a bid to significantly calm tensions in the Middle East, notably on the Iranian nuclear issue, so he can claim a foreign policy victory ahead of elections next year.