Region | Iran
Iran conducts third round of missile tests
State television says Iran test-fired short-range missiles during drills by the elite Revolutionary Guard.
- Agencies
- Published: 11:56 September 27, 2009
- Image Credit: EPA
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards carry out a missile test during military manoeuvres at an undisclosed location on Sunday.
Tehran: Iran said it successfully test-fired the longest-range missiles in its arsenal on Monday, weapons capable of carrying a warhead and striking Israel, US military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe.
State television said the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program, successfully tested the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil solid-fuel missiles with ranges up to about 2,000 kilometres. It was the third round of missile tests in two days of drills by the Guard.
Watch a video of Iran's latest missile tests
The war games come at a time when Iran is under intense international pressure to fully disclose its nuclear activities.
They began Sunday, two days after the US and its allies disclosed that Iran had been secretly developing an underground uranium enrichment facility and warned the country it must open the site to international inspection or face harsher international sanctions.
Gen. Hussain Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said on Sunday the drills were meant to show Tehran is prepared to crush any military threat from another country.
The revelation of Iran's secret nuclear site has given greater urgency to a key meeting on Thursday in Geneva between Iran and six major powers trying to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program.
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Alex Vatanka, a senior Middle East analyst at IHS Jane's, said Tehran was conducting missile tests now "to show some muscle, show some strength, and say the game is not over for Iran yet." He noted the upcoming meeting in Geneva.
"They felt going into these meetings ... that they needed to have something else to bolster their position, and I think that Iran's Revolutionary Guard showing a bit of military muscle here is part of that," he said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she does not believe Iran can convince the US and other world powers at the upcoming meeting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, as Tehran has long claimed.
That puts Tehran on a course for tougher economic penalties beyond the current "leaky sanctions," she said.
By US estimates, Iran is one to five years away from having nuclear weapons capability, although US intelligence also believes that Iranian leaders have not yet made the decision to build a weapon.
Iran also is developing ballistic missiles that could carry a nuclear warhead, but the administration said last week that it believes that effort has been slowed.
What do you think about the timing of these exercises with the upcoming talks with world powers over its nuclear programme? How will this affect the tone of the meetings? Can world leaders convince Iran to be more transparent with its nuclear programme?
Your comments
Unfortunately Iranâ??s military exercises come with lot of criticism and further increase the tension on its so-called â??peacefulâ?? nuclear programme. It would not be helping to ease the present standstill, but more positive initiative and action is needed from Iran if it wants to remain as a responsible country in the region. The differences must be resolved through dialogues rather than escalating it to further damaging the relations with its neighbouring states as well as the international community. In the present scenario, it is very important to review the organizational and functional set up of the nuclear watchdog. The norms it laid down on nuclear policy must be transparent and applicable to all countries as there should not be any disparity. Unless the current nuclear policy is clear and acceptable to everyone, it would be difficult for the world leaders to talk and convince Iran of their intentions. I strongly felt that the core issue here is the unclear terms for retaining of nuclear weapons. If it is Iran today, it could be any other country in the future that would seek nuclear technology, initially for energy reasons, but later it would be converted into other defence means.
Ramachandran Nair
Ruwi,Oman
Posted: September 29, 2009, 09:10
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