Iran said Wednesday it has successfully test-fired a "top secret" missile,
the third in a week, state-run television reported. (Click to See Full
Coverage)
Photo
released on Monday April 3, 2006 shows a test firing of a Fajr-3 missile
fired by Iran in the Persian Gulf on April 1,
2006.[AP] |
The report called the missile an "ultra-horizon" weapon and said it could be
fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters.
The tests came amid war games being held since Friday by the elite
Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea at a time of
increased tension with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.
Iranian television called it a "turning point" in its missile tests but gave
no other details.
At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim
Safavi, said the United States must recognize Iran as a "big, regional power."
Speaking on state television, Safavi said Iran could use the Straits of
Hormuz to apply pressure on foreign powers. About two-fifths of the world's oil
supplies pass through the 34-mile-wide entrance to the Gulf.
"The Straits of Hormuz are a point of control and economic pressure on the
energy transfer route for those foreign powers that might want to undermine
regional security," Safavi said.
He reiterated that Iran could defend itself against any invasion and added:
"I advise Americans not to move toward a military strike against Iran."
On Tuesday, Safavi called for foreign forces to leave the region. The US 5th
Fleet is based in Bahrain.
That same day, Iran tested a new surface-to-sea radar-avoiding missile
equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state TV reported. It said
the new missile, called Kowsar, was a medium-range weapon that Iran could
mass-produce.
It also said the Kowsar's guidance system could not be scrambled, and it had
been designed to sink ships.
On Friday, Iran tested the Fajr-3, a missile that it said can avoid radar and
hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. Iran also has tested
what it calls two new torpedoes.
One of the torpedoes, unveiled Monday, was tested in the Straits of Hormuz.
That seemed to be a clear warning to the United States that Iran believes it has
the capability to disable oil tankers moving through the Gulf.
The Revolutionary Guards have been holding their maneuvers — code-named the
"Great Prophet" — since Friday.
Some military analysts in Moscow said it appears the high-speed torpedoes
likely were Russian-built weapons that may have been acquired from China or
Kyrgyzstan.
Others have questioned their capabilities of evading advanced radar systems
such as those in Israel.
The United States said Monday that while Iran may have made "some strides" in
its military, it likely is exaggerating its capabilities.
"We know that the Iranians are always trying to improve their weapons system
by both foreign and indigenous measures," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
"It's possible that they are increasing their capability and making strides in
radar-absorbing materials and technology."
But "the Iranians have also been known to boast and exaggerate their
statements about greater technical and tactical capabilities," he said.
Safavi on Wednesday rejected the US claims that Iran had exaggerated its
capabilities.
"They tried to say what is related to our equipment was just a bluff. But we
announce that the advanced equipment were based on a real and domestic
industry," he said.
The U.N. Security Council has demanded Iran give up uranium enrichment, a
crucial part of the nuclear process. Washington is pressing for sanctions if
Tehran continues its refusal to do so, though US officials have not ruled out
military action as an eventual option, insisting they will not allow Iran to
gain a nuclear arsenal.
On Tuesday, state TV also said the Revolutionary Guards had tested what it
called a "super-modern flying boat" capable of evading radar.
The report showed the boat, looking like an aircraft, taking off from the sea
and flying low over the water.
Iran has held war games for two decades to improve its combat readiness and
test locally made equipment.
Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to
compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own
tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter
plane.