World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (September 28, 2011)

The Washington Post reported that Iran said Wednesday it has begun large-scale production of a domestically-developed cruise missile designed for sea-based targets and capable of destroying warships. Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said an unspecified number of the missiles, called “Ghader,” or “Capable” in Farsi, were delivered to the Iranian military and the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s naval division, which is assigned to protect Iran’s sea borders.

The Los Angeles Times published the article headlined “Putin's back, unfortunately.” It says that although few doubted that Putin held the strings of power during Medvedev's four years as president, his imminent return to the top office is being greeted with dismay in Washington. Publicly at least, Medvedev has been far more accommodating to U.S. interests than Putin was during his time as president. Medvedev has worked to improve trade relations with the rest of the world and is actively pursuing Russian membership in the World Trade Organization. Medvedev seemed to have developed a genuine rapport with President Obama on such issues as limiting nuclear weapons, while Putin's term as president was marked by decaying relations with the U.S. under George W. Bush and an overwrought spat over U.S. missile defense sites in Eastern Europe.

“Turkey to defend its sea interests, says PM” is an article published by the Turkish information agency Hurriyet. It says that Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would take all necessary measures to defend its rights over natural resources in the sea during a ceremony to launch Turkey’s first domestic warship. The Turkish research ship Piri Reis meanwhile entered block 13 off Cyprus where Greek Cypriots are continuing natural gas exploration with U.S. company Noble, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources confirmed. Amid rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey’s first domestically made warship was formally delivered to the Turkish Navy.

The Iranian information agency Press TV reported that Iran's Deputy Navy Commander Captain Mansour Maqsoudlou has announced the country's plan to design and manufacture aircraft carriers. The initial designs for building the carriers have been approved and the process of research, design and manufacture will start soon, Captain Maqsoudlou told IRNA on Wednesday. The Iranian commander pointed to the Navy's capacities to accomplish the task despite the time-consuming nature of aircraft carrier building. The Navy has set an agenda to produce vessels of different classes, some of which are being mass-produced and others being under study, Maqsoodlou pointed out.  He reiterated the Navy's ability to upgrade the equipment and systems in its fleet.