Nuclear tensions deepen as Iran launches test missiles

Published on Sunday 27 September 2009 22:50

IRAN claimed to have successfully test-fired short-range missiles during war games carried out yesterday by the elite Revolutionary Guard.

The military exercises came just days after the United States and its allies warned Tehran about the recently-revealed underground nuclear facility it has been secretly constructing.

General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said Iran also tested a multiple missile launcher for the first time.

State television showed pictures of at least two missiles being fired simultaneously and reported that the images were from yesterday's drill in a central Iran desert.

"We are going to respond to any military action in a crushing manner and it doesn't make any difference which country or regime has launched the aggression," Gen Salami said. He said the missiles successfully hit their targets.

Gen Salami said yesterday Iran also planned to test medium-range missiles last night and a longer-range missiles today, during drills set to last several days.

Salami said the short-range missiles were test-fired yesterday, but did not give specifics on range or other details.

He told reporters Iran had reduced the missiles and their ranges and enhanced their speed and precision so they could be used in quick, short-range engagements.

The tests came two days after the US and its allies disclosed that Iran had been secretly developing a previously unknown underground uranium enrichment facility, and warned the country it must open the nuclear site to international inspection, or face harsher international sanctions. The exercises were planned before that disclosure was made.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she doesn't believe Iran can convince the US and other world powers that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, putting Tehran on a course for tougher economic penalties beyond the current "leaky sanctions".

She told CBS's Face the Nation that the Iranians must present convincing evidence as to the purpose of their nuclear programme.

"We don't believe that they can present convincing evidence, that it's only for peaceful purposes, but we are going to put them to the test," she said.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates played down the effectiveness of military strikes against the site, arguing that pressuring Tehran economically and diplomatically would have a better chance of changing the Tehran government's policies.

"The reality is, there is no military option that does anything more than buy time," he told CNN's State of the Union in an interview broadcast yesterday.

The newly revealed nuclear site, in the mountains near the holy city of Qom, is believed to be inside a heavily guarded facility belonging to the Revolutionary Guard.

After the strong condemnations from the US and its allies, Iran said on Saturday it will allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to examine the site.

Nuclear experts said the details that have emerged about the site and the fact it was being developed secretly are strong indications that Iran's nuclear programme is not only for peaceful purposes, as the country has long maintained.

Israel has trumpeted the latest discoveries as proof of its long-held assertion that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.

"The revelation of the secret Iranian facility also demonstrates to even the most sceptical people the evil intentions of Iran," said Danny Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister.

"Iran's ongoing military manoeuvres including the last one and all their missile tests are a huge challenge to the international community," he added in an interview with Israel's Channel 10.