Iran flexes military muscle as nuclear dispute rumbles on

Published on Monday 28 September 2009 22:38

IRAN test-fired missiles yesterday which a commander said could reach "any regional target", flexing its military muscle before crucial talks this week with world powers worried about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The missile drills of the elite Revolutionary Guards coincide with escalating tension in Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, after last week's disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.

News of the nuclear fuel facility south of Tehran has added urgency to the meeting being held in Geneva on Thursday between Iranian officials and representatives of six major powers, including the United States, China and Russia.

The White House called the missile tests "provocative" and reiterated demands by US president Barack Obama at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last week that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad come clean on his country's disputed nuclear programme.

"They can agree to immediate unfettered access (to the newly disclosed nuclear facility]," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said when asked what Washington wanted from the talks. There has never been a stronger international consensus to address Iran and its nuclear programme than there is right now."

Iran's foreign ministry said there was no link between the missile manoeuvres and the nuclear activities. "This is a military drill which is deterrent in nature," spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said. "There is no connection whatsoever with the nuclear programme."

Press TV said the Shahab 3 surface-to-surface missile, with a range of up to 1,250 miles, was successfully test-fired on the second day of an exercise that began on Sunday, when medium-range missiles were also launched.

Such a range puts Israeli and US bases in the region within striking distance. Television footage of the launches showed missiles soaring into the sky, to shouts of Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).

"All targets within the region will be within the range of these missiles," said General Hossein Salami, commander of the Guards' air force.

He added: "All the test-fired missiles managed to hit their targets without any errors and with precision."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the test was "part of an annual provocation" by Iran and should not distract from the Geneva talks. He said: "On Thursday (Iran will] need to show they are serious about ensuring that their civilian nuclear power programme does not leak into a military programme."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman called the tests "troublesome".

He said: "You combine these show-of-force type missile tests along with the other revelations over the last couple of days with their continued development of a nuclear programme, and you put all those together, and it paints a picture of a pattern of deception."

He added that the US was focused on the talks, "to see if there is a way forward diplomatically and, if not, then what the next steps might be".

The US and its allies have already warned Iran it must open the nuclear site to international inspection, or face harsher international sanctions.