TEHRAN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test fired new long- and mid-range missiles
in response to threats from the United States and Israel, Iran's satellite
channel Press TV reported Wednesday.
A video grab from Al Alam television
shows three of nine long- and medium-range missiles being fired during a
test in Iran July 9, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
In military exercises dubbed Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great
Prophet 3), the IRGC test fired a Shahab 3 missile, which can hit any target
within a range of 2,000 km, Press TV said.
The Shahab 3 ballistic missile was equipped with a
one-ton conventional warhead, it added.
Nine highly advanced missiles with improved accuracy
were simultaneously tested, including the Zelzal and Fateh missiles with ranges
of 400 km and 170 km respectively.
The Payambar-e Azam 3 war games were conducted by
missile units of the IRGC's naval and air forces, Press TV reported.
IRGC Naval Commander Morteza Saffari said various
missile, rocket and torpedo launchers as well as military vessels and
land-to-sea missiles were tested during the exercises.
"The IRGC Navy is carrying out this maneuver to show
it is fully prepared to counter any possible enemy aggression or adventurism,"
Saffari said.
"The maneuver also sends out a reassuring message to
regional countries that together we can secure the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz
without the presence of foreign forces," he added.
IRGC Air Force Commander Hossein Salami told Press TV
that the aim of the war games were to demonstrate "just how strong-willed the
Islamic Republic is in defending its sovereignty against any challenges by those
enemies that have used harsh and threatening words against Iran in recent
weeks."
On Tuesday, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would strike Israeli city of Tel Aviv and the
U.S. fleet in the Gulf as a first response to any attack against the Islamic
republic.
"The Zionist regime (Israel) is pressuring White
House officials to prepare a military attack against Iran, " Iran's ISNA news
agency quoted Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards
navy division, as saying.
The war games came after IRGC Commander Major General
Mohammad Ali Jafari said in late June that Tehran would impose controls on
shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz if attacked.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of
trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.
Iran has denied the U.S. charges and insists that its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only.
The Bush administration said it focused on diplomacy
to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but has insisted it will take "no option
off the table."
Some observers believe that it is still possible that
the United States and Israel would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's
suspicious nuclear programs.
TEHRAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran would strike Tel Aviv
and the U.S. fleet in the Gulf as a first response to any attack against the
Islamic republic, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
Tuesday.
"The Zionist regime (Israel) is pressuring White
House officials to prepare a military attack against Iran," Iran's ISNA news
agency quoted Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards
navy division, as saying. Full story
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States
reaffirmed Tuesday diplomacy on trying to resolve Iran's nuclear issue and said
it is waiting to hear EU high representative Javier Solana's talks with Iran.
"This is a process that we take seriously, committed
to the diplomatic resolution of this issue," State Department spokesman Gonzalo
Gallegos said. Full story
PARIS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign
policy chief Javier Solana has said he is not optimistic about the prospects of
a breakthrough with Iran over its nuclear program.
Solana, who is here to attend a conference on
boosting EU-NATO ties, told reporters on Monday he hoped to hold talks with
Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili before the end of the month. Full story
TEHRAN, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Oil Minister
Gholam-Hossein Nozari said Saturday that no country will ever dare to carry out
an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic, Iran's satellite Press TV
reported.
"Iran's capabilities are such that no country can
conceive of attacking it," Nozari said. Full story
TEHRAN, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Tehran has responded to
the package of incentives proposed by six major countries in a letter to EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Iran's English-language Press TV said on
Friday.
The letter was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki and was delivered to Solana by Tehran's ambassador to
Brussels, Press TV quoted an Iranian source as saying. The report did not
elaborate on the content of the response. Full story
