Iran Launches Ten-Day Missile War Games
Readers Number : 100
27/09/2009 Iran test-fired three short-range missiles as its elite Revolutionary Guards began several days of war games on Sunday, state television reported.
Hossein Salami, air force commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, said that on Monday there would also be a test-firing of the long-range Shahab 3 missile which Iran says has a range of 1,300-2,000 kilometers and could hit arch-foe Israel. "Tomorrow we will test the long-range Shahab missile," he told the English-language television channel Press TV, referring to the Shahab 3.
He also said, without elaborating, that the Guards tested a "multiple missile launcher for the first time" on Sunday and that later in the day Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 medium-range missiles would be test-fired.
Salami called the missile war games an "indication" of Iran's "strong will to defend our values and interests." "We have increased the precision of our missiles... hopefully, these missile tests will contribute to our deterrent and defensive capabilities."
Salami said the Guards will not launch any new type of missile during the exercise which is expected to last several days, but he added that Iran "has boosted the number of missiles and can contain long-term missile conflicts
Earlier, Iran's state-owned Al-Alam and English-language television Press TV channels reported that the missiles fired were of the three short-range missiles fired were of the Tondar-69, Fateh-110 and Zelzal type.
On Saturday, the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said it would begin missile war games codenamed Great Prophet four from Sunday in a bid to "maintain and improve" the deterrent capability of Iran's armed forces.
Salami said the main aim of the maneuvers was to "evaluate the technical developments recently achieved in surface-to-surface missiles," Revolutionary Guards website Sepahnews reported.
Salami said there would be "simultaneous" and "successive" firing of missiles in the exercises which would last for several days.
Iran stages regular military maneuvers in strategic Gulf waters, showcasing its long- and medium-range missiles as well as other weaponry.
Last May, Iran said it had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf. The Islamic republic has in the past threatened to target US bases in the region and to block the strategic Gulf Strait of Hormuz waterway for oil tankers if its nuclear sites are attacked.
The White House said the intelligence community now believed Iran was developing shorter-range missiles "more rapidly than previously projected" while progressing more slowly than expected with intercontinental missiles.
US ally the Zionist entity, most Arab states and parts of Europe - including much of Turkey - are within range of the Shahab-3.
On September 17, US President Barack Obama decided to halt a drive launched by the previous administration of George W. Bush to deploy by 2013 missile interceptors in Poland and a powerful tracking radar in the neighboring Czech Republic. Obama said he had decided to replace the shield with a more mobile system using mainly sea-based missile interceptors.
The Iranian missile maneuvers also come after last week's disclosure by the Islamic Republic that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant sparking concern by Western leaders.
Israel and the United States have never ruled out a military option to thwart Iran's nuclear drive, which they suspect of having a military aim. Tehran firmly denies the charge.
On Saturday, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the new plant on the road from Tehran to the holy city of Qom will be put under the supervision of the IAEA.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the decision to grant access to the IAEA. "It is always welcome when Iran makes a decision to comply with the international rules and regulations, and particularly with respect to the IAEA," she told reporters in New York.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who returned from the United Nations on Saturday, said the disclosure of the new facility was a success for Iran. "This issue was turned around in a way that (now) we believe they regret bringing it up," he told reporters of the anger expressed by Western leaders over the plant.
"They may pursue this issue through the media but it has become a firm blow to the arrogance," in reference to the United States and other Western powers, he said.
Speaking at a New York news conference on Friday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel "will not dare attack Iran" and that if Israel does, "The Iranians can defend themselves." "We are not concerned about an Israeli attack. Iran is a very big country. Much larger and bigger than what some people think and imagine," Ahmadinejad told a news conference.
Ahmadinejad's statement came hours after he said the United States, Britain and France would "regret" accusing Iran of hiding a nuclear fuel facility, saying it was not a secret site.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency early about the facility. "It's not a secret site. If it was, why would we have informed the IAEA about it a year ahead of time," Ahmadinejad said. "They the United States, Britain and France will regret this announcement."
The statement came after Ahmadinejad said Iran was not obliged to tell the Obama administration of every uranium enrichment plant it has. "This does not mean we must inform Mr. Obama's administration of every facility that we have," he told Time magazine in an interview when asked about Obama's charge that a nuclear fuel plant had been built secretly.
Readers Number : 100
27/09/2009 Iran test-fired three short-range missiles as its elite Revolutionary Guards began several days of war games on Sunday, state television reported.
Hossein Salami, air force commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, said that on Monday there would also be a test-firing of the long-range Shahab 3 missile which Iran says has a range of 1,300-2,000 kilometers and could hit arch-foe Israel. "Tomorrow we will test the long-range Shahab missile," he told the English-language television channel Press TV, referring to the Shahab 3.
He also said, without elaborating, that the Guards tested a "multiple missile launcher for the first time" on Sunday and that later in the day Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 medium-range missiles would be test-fired.
Salami called the missile war games an "indication" of Iran's "strong will to defend our values and interests." "We have increased the precision of our missiles... hopefully, these missile tests will contribute to our deterrent and defensive capabilities."
Salami said the Guards will not launch any new type of missile during the exercise which is expected to last several days, but he added that Iran "has boosted the number of missiles and can contain long-term missile conflicts
Earlier, Iran's state-owned Al-Alam and English-language television Press TV channels reported that the missiles fired were of the three short-range missiles fired were of the Tondar-69, Fateh-110 and Zelzal type.
On Saturday, the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said it would begin missile war games codenamed Great Prophet four from Sunday in a bid to "maintain and improve" the deterrent capability of Iran's armed forces.
Salami said the main aim of the maneuvers was to "evaluate the technical developments recently achieved in surface-to-surface missiles," Revolutionary Guards website Sepahnews reported.
Salami said there would be "simultaneous" and "successive" firing of missiles in the exercises which would last for several days.
Iran stages regular military maneuvers in strategic Gulf waters, showcasing its long- and medium-range missiles as well as other weaponry.
Last May, Iran said it had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf. The Islamic republic has in the past threatened to target US bases in the region and to block the strategic Gulf Strait of Hormuz waterway for oil tankers if its nuclear sites are attacked.
The White House said the intelligence community now believed Iran was developing shorter-range missiles "more rapidly than previously projected" while progressing more slowly than expected with intercontinental missiles.
US ally the Zionist entity, most Arab states and parts of Europe - including much of Turkey - are within range of the Shahab-3.
On September 17, US President Barack Obama decided to halt a drive launched by the previous administration of George W. Bush to deploy by 2013 missile interceptors in Poland and a powerful tracking radar in the neighboring Czech Republic. Obama said he had decided to replace the shield with a more mobile system using mainly sea-based missile interceptors.
The Iranian missile maneuvers also come after last week's disclosure by the Islamic Republic that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant sparking concern by Western leaders.
Israel and the United States have never ruled out a military option to thwart Iran's nuclear drive, which they suspect of having a military aim. Tehran firmly denies the charge.
On Saturday, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the new plant on the road from Tehran to the holy city of Qom will be put under the supervision of the IAEA.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the decision to grant access to the IAEA. "It is always welcome when Iran makes a decision to comply with the international rules and regulations, and particularly with respect to the IAEA," she told reporters in New York.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who returned from the United Nations on Saturday, said the disclosure of the new facility was a success for Iran. "This issue was turned around in a way that (now) we believe they regret bringing it up," he told reporters of the anger expressed by Western leaders over the plant.
"They may pursue this issue through the media but it has become a firm blow to the arrogance," in reference to the United States and other Western powers, he said.
Speaking at a New York news conference on Friday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel "will not dare attack Iran" and that if Israel does, "The Iranians can defend themselves." "We are not concerned about an Israeli attack. Iran is a very big country. Much larger and bigger than what some people think and imagine," Ahmadinejad told a news conference.
Ahmadinejad's statement came hours after he said the United States, Britain and France would "regret" accusing Iran of hiding a nuclear fuel facility, saying it was not a secret site.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency early about the facility. "It's not a secret site. If it was, why would we have informed the IAEA about it a year ahead of time," Ahmadinejad said. "They the United States, Britain and France will regret this announcement."
The statement came after Ahmadinejad said Iran was not obliged to tell the Obama administration of every uranium enrichment plant it has. "This does not mean we must inform Mr. Obama's administration of every facility that we have," he told Time magazine in an interview when asked about Obama's charge that a nuclear fuel plant had been built secretly.
Iran to hold missile defense drills
"Iran's Revolutionary Guards will begin missile defense drills on Sunday ....."Missile defense drills will start tomorrow as part of the annual drills for the maintenance and improvement of Iran armed forces," a Guards statement said, as quoted by the state-run agency.
Revolutionary Guards air force chief Hossein Salami said that the exercises would take place in several regions and would see the simultaneous firing of missiles at mock targets. The drills will last for several days...."
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