Iran test-fired nine missiles yesterday and warned the US and Israel it was ready to retaliate if they attacked the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear projects.
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 1 tonne and a 2,000 kilometer range.”
PHOTO: AP/IRANIAN TV VIA APTN
Yesterday’s launch was part of The Great Prophet III war games by the missile and naval sections of the Revolutionary Guards, which are aimed at improving combat readiness.
“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.
“We warn the enemies who intend to threaten us with military exercises and empty psychological operations that our hand will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch,” ISNA news agency quoted 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 said.
Iran should “refrain from further missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Japan.
In Bulgaria, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested the tests justified a US missile shield plan with bases in eastern Europe that Russia strongly opposes.
“Those who say that there is no Iranian threat against which to be building missile defenses perhaps ought to talk to the Iranians about ... the range of the missiles that they test fired,” Rice said.
Russia, which has resisted US calls for tougher UN sanctions on Iran, nevertheless says it shares concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program.
Italy joined criticism of Iran’s latest missile tests.
“These are very dangerous missiles — that’s why the international community and not just Israel has an interest in blocking this escalation in a definitive way,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
Iran’s State Press TV said the “highly advanced” missiles tested by the Guards included a “new” Shahab-3 missile.
Iran has said Israel and US bases are in its range.
“Israel does not threaten Iran, but the Iranian nuclear program, combined with their aggressive ballistic missile program, is a matter of grave concern,” Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said after the tests.
Rising tensions have rattled financial markets.
Oil prices, which had slipped from record highs, rebounded about US$2 a barrel in Asia after yesterday’s tests.
Late afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for delivery next month was up US$1.74 at US$137.78 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Iran is certainly sending mixed signals,” said Victor Shum at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
“There was an apparent easing of tensions, but then the missile tests had an impact on prices today,” he said.
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