Iran test-fires more missiles
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - July 10, 2008 The weapons have "special capabilities" and included missiles
launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes
and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not
elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired
simultaneously in the darkness trailed by red plumes of fire and
smoke.
The report came hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of
threats against Israel.
"We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American
interests and the interests of our allies," Rice said Thursday in
Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.
The director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Lt. Gen. Henry
Obering, said Iran's missile tests have emphasized the urgency of
going ahead with plans to place a proposed U.S. missile defense
system in Eastern Europe.
Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new
version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of
1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula,
Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.
Wednesday's missile tests were conducted at the Strait of
Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf
through which up to 40 percent of the world's oil passes. Iran has
threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.
Another Iranian state channel, Press TV, quoted a senior
Republican Guard commander Thursday as saying Iran would maintain
security in the Strait of Hormuz and the larger Gulf.
Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, chief of the Guards' joint staff, called
the missile tests a "defensive measure against invasions,"
according to the channel's Web site.
Iran will not jeopardize the interests of neighboring countries,
he said without elaborating.
Even as Hejazi tried to reassure Iran's neighbors, Tehran's
standoff with the West took a new toll when French energy giant
Total SA said it is too risky to invest in Iran for now. The
decision raised questions about the future of major western
involvement in developing Iranian gas reserves.
"The conditions are not present for investing in Iran today,"
said Total spokeswoman Lisa Wiler. "We hope that the political
relations will improve so that we can invest."
Total had been in discussions for developing a liquefied natural
gas project linked to Iran's South Pars gas field with Malaysia's
Petronas.
But Total and oil majors have been under increasing political
pressure from the United States and its allies over their
activities in Iran amid mounting tensions over Iran's nuclear
program. The U.S. and other countries fear that program is aimed at
building nuclear weapons but Tehran insists is for producing
energy.
Israel showed off its latest spy plane Thursday in what defense
officials said was a display of strength in response to Iranian war
games and missile tests.
"It has the most sophisticated early warning and intelligence
devices to date and is capable of reaching all destinations
required by the air force," said Assaf Dargan, a spokesman for
Israel Aerospace Industries.