WORLD> Middle East
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WORLD> Middle East
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Defiant Iran tests longest-range missiles
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-29 06:15 TEHRAN, Iran: Iran tested its longest-range missiles Monday and said they can reach any place that threatens the country, including Israel, parts of Europe and US military bases in the Mideast. The launch capped two days of war games and was condemned as a provocation by Western powers, which are demanding Tehran come clean about a newly revealed nuclear facility it has been secretly building.
Iran's missile program and its nuclear work have long been a concern for the United States, Israel and its Western allies. They fear Tehran is intent on developing an atomic weapons capability and the missiles to deploy such warheads, despite Iran's assurances it is only pursuing civilian nuclear power. In the latest exercise, the Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program, successfully tested upgraded versions of Iran's medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles, state television reported. Both can carry warheads and reach up to 1,200 miles, putting Israel, US military bases in the Middle East and parts of Europe within striking distance. The launchings were meant to display Iran's military might and demonstrate its readiness to respond to any military threat.
Iran conducted three rounds of missile tests in drills that began Sunday, two days after the US and its allies disclosed the country had been developing an underground uranium enrichment facility. The Western powers warned Iran must open the site to international inspection or face harsher international sanctions. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hasan Qashqavi, maintained the missile tests had nothing to do with the tension over the site, saying they were part of routine, long-planned military exercises. That assertion was rejected by the United States and its European allies. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the tests "provocative in nature," adding: "Obviously, these were pre-planned military exercises." French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages agreed, saying "these tests constitute a provocation, even as we have multiplied our offers of dialogue with Iran." The latest controversy comes days before a critical meeting Thursday in Geneva between Iran and six major powers trying to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program -- the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. The prospect of more UN sanctions on Iran is a possibility, targeting specific people and facilities. "We're prepared to take additional steps," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington. Iran's new nuclear site is located in the arid mountains near the holy city of Qom and is believed to be inside a heavily guarded, underground facility belonging to the Revolutionary Guard, according to a document sent by US President Barack Obama's administration to lawmakers. Experts say they have found sites that appear to be military north of Qom, although there has been no confirmation from the US government and Iran says the nuclear facility is south of the holy city. A satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and GeoEye shows a well-fortified facility built into a mountain about 20 miles northeast of Qom, with ventilation shafts and a nearby surface-to-air missile site, according to defense consultancy IHS Jane's, which did the analysis of the imagery. The image was taken in September. However, Iran's Foreign Ministry has given a different location, saying Monday it was near the village of Fordo, which is about 30 miles south of Qom. GlobalSecurity.org analyzed images from 2005 and January 2009 when the site was in an earlier phase of construction and believes the facility is not underground but was instead cut into a mountain. It is constructed of heavily reinforced concrete and is about the size of a football field -- large enough to house 3,000 centrifuges used to refine uranium. |
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