Iran fired two more long-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday as it continued military tests in defiance of United States sanctions and fresh warnings from Washington. And I want to reiterate which I know people still doubt here.
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Washington fears those missiles could be used to carry a nuclear warhead, even after Iran implemented a nuclear deal with world powers in January that imposes strict limits and checks on its disputed nuclear programme.
State TV in October aired footage of long tunnels with ready-to-fire missiles on the back of trucks, saying the facility was one of hundreds of underground missile bases around the country.
“The 1,240-mile range of our missiles is to confront the Zionist regime”, Hajizadeh said.
As Reuters reports, “the missile tests underline a rift in Iran between hard-line factions opposed to normalizing relations with the West, and President Hassan Rouhani’s relatively moderate government, which is trying to attract foreign investors to Iran”.
The IRGC maintains dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles, the largest stock in the Middle East.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected reports about phone talk between Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his United States counterpart John Kerry on Tehran’s recent missile tests.
Tuesday’s tests had triggered a threat of sanctions from the US, which also said that it would raise the issue in the U.N. Security Council to get an “appropriate response”.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told journalists that the reported missile launches underscore the importance of the nuclear deal with Iran.
He urged Obama to “aggressively enforce all sanctions against Iran’s missile programs, support for terrorism and human rights abuses”.
The IRGC forces test-fired two types of Qadr ballistic missiles during “Might of Velayat” drills in north of Iran on Wednesday morning.
The semiofficial Fars news agency offered pictures Wednesday it said were of the Qadr H missiles being fired. Similar phrases have been emblazoned on Iranian missiles before.
Hajizadeh had reportedly said earlier that the sanctions will not stop Iran from making ballistic missiles.
“Enemies of the Islamic revolution and regional security must fear the roar of the Guards’ missiles”, he added, quoted by the Guards’ official website.
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In January, Iran seized 10 USA sailors in the Gulf when their two riverine command boats headed from Kuwait to Bahrain ended up in Iranian territorial waters after the crews “misnavigated”, the US military said.
