Iran Fires 9 Missiles In "Test"

Agence French Press:

Iran on Wednesday test-fired a missile it said is capable of reaching Israel, 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 simultaneously at 8:00 am (0330 GMT) from an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert, state television pictures showed.

State-run Arabic channel 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 insists 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.

The United States, which has never ruled out military action against Iranian atomic facilities, immediately condemned the missile tests.

"Iran's development of ballistic missiles is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and completely inconsistent with Iran's obligations to the world," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

He expressed concern that Iran's ballistic missiles could be used as "a delivery vehicle for a potential nuclear weapon".

"It's evidence that the missile threat is not an imaginary one," commented US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There has been concern that an attack against Iran could be imminent after it emerged Israel had carried out manoeuvres in Greece that were effectively practice runs for a potential strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel is Iran's arch regional enemy and has expressed alarm over the rhetoric of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly predicted that the Jewish state is doomed to disappear.

The missile launch comes a day after an aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran would "set fire" to Israel and the US navy in the Gulf as its first response to any American attack over its nuclear programme.

"Tel Aviv and the US fleet in the Persian Gulf would be the targets that would be set on fire in Iran's crushing response," said mid-ranking cleric Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative to Revolutionary Guards naval forces.

Wednesday'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.