What is Israel planning to do with its drones?

Its wingspan of 26 metres makes it as wide as a Boeing 737 passenger jet, but the Heron TP does not have a pilot. The unmanned plane can reach an altitude of more than 12,000 meters and can fly for at least 20 hours, although other reports put that figure at 36 hours.

The drone "has the potential to be able to conduct new missions down the line as they become relevant," Israeli Air Force Chief General Ido Nehushtan told The Jerusalem Post. In simple English, that means it can reach Iran. And it can also hover for hours with a full payload of bombs. It has always been said that the big obstacle to an Israeli strike on the Iranian nuclear programme was its lack of long-range bombers. With the Heron TP, the Israel Defence Forces would seem to have solved the problem.

Russia said last week that it was going to sell its sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran. The mobile, land-based system has been designed to shoot down aircraft within a 120 km range. It is also capable of simultaneously taking on up to 100 targets. Meanwhile, airlines that call the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula the "Arabian Gulf" instead of the "Persian Gulf" will be banned from Iranian airspace, Tehran officials said on Monday.