Defiant Iran angers US with missile test

Stuart Williams
AFP
Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Iran on Wednesday test-fired a missile whose range puts Israel within reach, angering the United States amid growing fears that the standoff over the contested Iranian nuclear drive could lead to war.

The Shahab-3 was among a broadside of nine missiles fired off in the early morning from an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert, state-run Arabic channel Al-Alam and its English counterpart Press-TV reported.

Al-Alam said the missiles test-fired by the elite Revolutionary Guards included a "Shahab-3 with a conventional warhead weighing one tonne and a 2,000-kilometre (1,240-mile) range."

The firing comes at a time of growing tension over Tehran's nuclear drive, which Iran has insisted is peaceful but the West fears could be aimed at making an atomic bomb.

"The aim of these war games is to show we are ready to defend the integrity of the Iranian nation," Al-Alam quoted Revolutionary Guards air force commander Hossein Salami as saying.

"Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy. The enemy must not repeat its mistakes. The enemy targets are under surveillance," he added.

Full article here.

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