Image From Qahar F-313 Unveiling Dropped In To Aerial Photo Of Damavand Mountain

In its ongoing effort to convince people the Qahar F-313 is actually an operational system, Iran's state news agency released photos of the airplane that seem to show it flying over Damavand mountain. But on closer examination, the image is a fake.

It quickly became apparent shortly after the photo's release that the airplane was placed into an picture of the mountain using image manipulation software. The "airplane" is shown in exactly the same orientation as when it was sitting inside a hangar for its grand unveiling last week. At that time, analysts raised questions about the F-313's ability to fly.

The French news service France24 reports that the photo was published in Khouz News, which largely reports news from the southwest province of Khuzestan. The image was recognized as a fake almost immediately by Iranians who saw the photo online. While independent analysts say that the aircraft is far too small to have the advanced capabilities claimed by the Iranian military, officials there say that the airplane is real, and comments to the contrary are "enemy propaganda."

FMI: www.state.gov