The short-range missiles were fired in a bid to improve the Iranian armed forces' deterrent capabilities [AFP]
The Great Prophet III military exercise
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will hold a military exercise, which includes surface-to-surface missile launches and long-term resistance.
"The military exercise dubbed The Great Prophet IV will be carried out to improve the Islamic Republic armed forces' defense capabilities," the Head of the IRGC's public relations office said Saturday.
The maneuver, which is a sequel to The Great Prophet III carried out last year by the IRGC naval and ground forces in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz region, will begin on Sunday.
Mobile lauching missile are hard to detect and able to launch at any part of Iran.
The suspected nuclear facility in Qom, Iran . Iran second nuclear facility which is secret and not inform the IAEA. According to Iran it is not operational yet. But the isolate location and secrecy surrounding this facility lead to believe it is used for military purpose.
A short-range missile launched during war games in Qom, 120 kms south of Tehran
File picture shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards firing a missile during an exercise
The Fateh-110
In this image released Sunday Sept. 27, 2009, on Iranian state TV cannel IRIB, purporting to show a successful test-fire launch of a short range missile. Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range surface-to-surface missiles during drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, in a show of force just days after the U.S. and its allies condemned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility that was being secretly constructed. TV showed pictures of at least two missiles being fired.
In this image made from an aerial view released Sunday Sept. 27, 2009, on Iranian state TV cannel IRIB, purporting to show a successful test-fire launch of a short range missile. Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range surface-to-surface missiles during drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, in a show of force just days after the U.S. and its allies condemned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility that was being secretly constructed. TV showed pictures of at least two missiles being fired.
Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, a show of force days after the U.S. warned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility it was secretly constructing.
Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said Iran also tested a multiple missile launcher for the first time. The official English-language Press TV showed pictures of at least two missiles being fired simultaneously and said they were from Sunday's drill in a central Iran desert. In the clip, men could be heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" as the missiles were launched.
"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," state media quoted Salami as saying. He said the missiles successfully hit their targets.
The powerful Revolutionary Guard defends Iran's clerical rulers. It has its own ground, naval and air units and its air force controls the country's missile program.
The tests came two days after the U.S. 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 drill was planned in advance of that disclosure.
The newly revealed nuclear site in the arid mountains near the holy city of Qom is believed to be inside a heavily guarded, underground facility belonging to the Revolutionary Guard, according to a document sent by President Barack Obama's administration to lawmakers.
After the strong condemnations from the U.S. and its allies, Iran said Saturday it will allow U.N. 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 program is not only for peaceful purposes, as the country has long maintained.
By U.S. estimates, Iran is one to five years away from having a nuclear weapons capability, although U.S. intelligence also believes that Iranian leaders have not yet made the decision to build a weapon.
Iran also is developing a long-range ballistic missile that could carry a nuclear warhead, but the administration said last week that it believes that effort has been slowed. That assessment paved the way for Obama's decision to shelve the Bush administration's plan for a missile shield in Europe, which was aimed at defending against Iranian ballistic missiles.
Salami said Iran would test medium-range Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles on Sunday night and long-range Shahab-3 missiles on Monday, during drills set to last several days.The Shahab-3 is the most powerful rocket of Iranian missile troops as of this Sunday. The entire Israeli territory is within its hitting range.
Salami said Fateh, Tondar and Zelzal missiles were test fired on Sunday, but did not give specifics on range or other details. All are short-range, surface-to-surface missiles.
Iran has had the solid-fuel Fateh missile, with a range of 120 miles (193 kilometers), for several years. Fateh means conqueror in Farsi and Arabic. It also has the solid-fueled, Chinese-made CSS 8, also called the Tondar 69, according to the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a private group that seeks to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The Tondar, which means thunder, has a range of about 93 miles (150 kilometers.)
State media said the Revolutionary Guard tested a multiple launcher for the first time, designed for the Zelzal missile. Tehran has previously tested the Zelzal — versions of which have ranges of 130-185 miles (210-300 kilometers) — but only single launch.
In July 2006, Israeli military officials said their jets had destroyed a missile in Lebanon named Zelzal, which they said Hezbollah had received from Iran and could reach Tel Aviv. Zelzal means earthquake.
Iran's last known missile tests were in May when it fired its longest-range solid-fuel missile, Sajjil-2. Tehran said the two-stage surface-to-surface missile has a range of about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) — capable of striking Israel, U.S. Mideast bases and Europe.
The revelation of Iran's secret site has given greater urgency to a key meeting on Thursday in Geneva between Iran and six major powers trying to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program.
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