Missiles fired without hitch, Iranians say

Ready to use on any threat, air force commander warns

The Iran Revolutionary Guard's Tondar missile is launched in a drill Sunday near the city of Qom, 80 miles south of Tehran, in this photo released by the Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency.
The Iran Revolutionary Guard's Tondar missile is launched in a drill Sunday near the city of Qom, 80 miles south of Tehran, in this photo released by the Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency.

— Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles Sunday in drills meant to show Tehran is prepared to crush any military threat from another country.

The display of force comes days after the U.S. and its allies warned Iran over a newly revealed nuclear facility it was secretly constructing.

Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard air force, said Iran had perfected its short-range missiles to make them more accurate in tactical battlefield situations and defend the country from any attacks.

"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 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 missiles tested weren't the kind that can carry a nuclear warhead. Iran is developing such ballistic missiles, but the U.S. believes that effort has been slowed.

But the timing of the missile tests has been widely interpreted as an Iranian show of force in the face of the international storm of criticism over the secret facility.

Tehran carried out the missile tests now "to show some muscle, show some strength, and say the game is not over for Iran yet," said Alex Vatanka, a senior Middle East analyst at IHS Jane's.

The country's nuclear program, which Iran claims is designed to generate electricity, is at the top of the agenda at a meeting Thursday in Geneva involving diplomats from Iran, the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

"They felt going into these meetings next week that they needed to have something else to bolster their position, and I think that Iran's Revolutionary Guard showing a bit of military muscle here is part of that," Vatanka said.

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

The Iranians must "present convincing evidence as to the purpose of their nuclear program. 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," Clinton said on CBS' Face the Nation.

"If we don't get the answers that we are expecting and the changes in behavior that we're looking for, then we will work with our partners to move toward sanctions," Clinton added.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said pressuring Tehran economically and diplomatically would have a better chance of changing the Tehran government's policies than military strikes against the nuclear site.

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

"The Iranians are in a very bad spot now because of this deception, in terms of all ofthe great powers," he said. "And there obviously is the opportunity for severe additional sanctions."

Gates noted that the unemployment rate is 40 percent among Iran's young people and said past economic sanctions "are having an impact."

Severe additional sanctions "would have the potential to bringing them to change their policies," he said.

Gates emphasized China's key role in winning additional penalties against Iran. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, including China, would have to agree to new sanctions. The United States, Britain and France support additional economic conditions and Russia now appears favorable. But China relies heavily on Iranian oil imports and remains reluctant to give its assent.

"China's participation is clearly important," Gates said.

The Iranian nuclear site was revealed in the arid mountains near the holy city of Qom and 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 itwill allow U.N. nuclear inspectors to examine the site.

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 skeptical people the evil intentions of Iran," said Danny Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister.

"Iran's ongoing military maneuvers, including the last one and all their missile tests, are a huge challenge to the international community," he said on Israel's Channel 10 Sunday.

By U.S. estimates, Iran is one to five years away from having 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 ballistic missiles 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 a longer-range Shahab-3 missiles today, during drills set to last several days.

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 - capable of striking Israel, U.S. Mideast bases and southeastern Europe.

The threat of Israeli military strikes on Iran hangs over the discussion of the nuclear program. Gates said U.S. officials are trying to persuade Israel to refrain from military action while the international efforts to negotiate an end to the suspected nuclear weapons program are under way.

"We've obviously been in close touch with them, as our ally and friend, and continue to urge them to let this diplomatic and economic sanctions path play out," he said on CNN.

Information for this article was contributed by Nasser Karimi and Jim Kuhnhenn of The Associated Press and by Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim of the Los Angeles Times.

Front Section, Pages 1, 4 on 09/28/2009

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