Iran Tests Missiles Amid Shouts Of Allahu Akbar

by Rory Cripps | September 27, 2009 at 06:48 am

395 views | 54 Recommendations | 14 comments

Iran test-fired short range missiles today after warnings by the U.S. and its allies about its secret underground nuclear facilities.

Fateh, Tondar, and Zelzal missiles were test fired as part of a military drill amid shouts of "Allahu Akbar". They are all short-range surface-to-surface missiles.

Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said that two medium-range missiles will be tested tonight and that one long-range missile will be tested on Monday.

U.S. intelligence sources estimate that Iran is one to five years away from developing nuclear missiles.

The Fateh missile has a range of 120 miles and has been part of Iran's weaponry for a couple of years. The Zelzal missile, with a range of 130-185 miles, was previously tested.

In May, Iran tested the Sajjil-2 missile which has a range of 1200 miles. The Sajjil-2 is capable of hitting Israel, U.S. military bases in the Mideast, and parts of Europe.

Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills today 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 today's drill in a central Iran desert. In the clip, men could be heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" as the missiles were launched.

"The message of the war game for some arrogant countries which intend to intimidate is that we are able to give a proper, strong answer to their hostility quickly," state television 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 facility is Iran's second uranium-enrichment site working to produce the fuel that could eventually be used in a nuclear weapon.

A close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday the site will be operational soon and would pose a threat to those who oppose Iran.

"This new facility, God willing, will become operational soon and will blind the eyes of the enemies," Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani told the semi-official Fars news agency.

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Rory Cripps

at 09:35 on September 27th, 2009

BLUE CRUSH: Thank you so much for sourcing and providing the accompanying video! It is greatly appreciated!

Rory Cripps

at 07:12 on September 27th, 2009

sara: I tried repeatedly! How do I get rid of it? Maybe it has something to do with my security settings . . . .

René

at 07:11 on September 27th, 2009

"...the site will be operational soon and would pose a threat to those who oppose Iran."

that's pretty much plain as day.

a211423

at 09:24 on September 27th, 2009

Does Ahmandinajad really believe his show of weapons is going to anyway influence decisions by the international community? The only thing they have in their favor right now is the refusal of China to institute sanctions. And that could change, and if it does he will have painted himself into a corner.

Because the U.S. has known of these facilities for several months and was going to reveal the knowledge at the October 1st meeting, this suggests there might be a stratedgy we are yet unaware of and remains to be seen. With the U.K., Russia, Isreal and France united with the U.S., China will be facing some international pressure to participate in the interest of global security. The question is how much does China want to protect their relationship with Iran as an oil partner.

lalith

at 11:30 on September 27th, 2009

With the boom of so many cars on the streets of China, of course, they will have to have a guaranteed supply of crude oil.

Iran perhaps is trying all this to get the sanctions placed against them removed. Because of the sanctions, the prices of their basic requirements are sky high. Also, they have an aging fleet of air crafts. 14 air crafts have crashed during the past 25 years and over 1500 passengers have died as a result. US has denied Boeing from manufacturing air crafts for Iran.

Perhaps, Iran is hoping that the sanctions will be eased within 1 to 5 years so that the Iranian citizens have a better life. Also, the Iranian nuclear capability can be used as a bargaining tool. I think, this the avenue Iran is going to decide on finally.

The sanctions have had very significant effect on Iran but the political effect has been near zero.

Somebody has to offer crude oil to China with a guarantee and rest assured, they will vote against Iran.

The radical angle of the Iranians is something which will have to observed as this is where the religion comes in. It will be interesting to note how the religious leaders take upon this situation. Will it be simply, 'kill the infidel'?

Rory Cripps

at 12:25 on September 27th, 2009

Lalith: Thank you so much for your comment and insight! I wasn't aware of the extent to which China is dependent upon Iran for oil!

Even for those Westerners, such as myself, that want to believe with all their heart that the death and destruction suffered in the Mideast is somehow not in vain, but is an unfortunate consequence of good attempting to triumph over evil, there is always this question: Is the continued strife in the Mideast simply a result of the developed world's thirst for oil?

Iffy (not verified)

at 13:29 on September 27th, 2009

I am going to lay it down simply: it will happen while we are in bed. You will wake up one more morning, grab a coffee and flip on the radio. Obama will be having an address to the nation at 10 am. He will say overnight coalition forces (france, britain, Israel, Germany, Canada) have used tactical nukes on all Iranian facilities. UN agencies are now coordinating health and refugee issues (a million will be dead from radiation). The G20 has already green lighted this scenario.

Rory Cripps

at 14:21 on September 27th, 2009

Iffy (not verified): Thanks for your comment! I've learned a long time ago not to discount anything in this crazy world of ours. Indeed anything is possible. Perhaps we're all just frogs swimming around in an initial pot of comfortable and cool water unaware that the water is approaching the boiling point . . . .

israeli.agent

at 22:24 on September 27th, 2009

"Does Ahmandinajad really believe his show of weapons is going to anyway influence decisions by the international community? "

Why not? They have a very live example in their vicinity. In the form om Pakistan. Whatever the internal turmoil or economical situation, Pakistan has got "that" kind of prestige among the Islamic world with the show of nuclear muscle.

Iran can be the next nukistan with it's own 'Islamic' bomb - something unique they can show off to the Arab world since in the heart most of the Iranians (let us say Persians) feel that somehow Arabs managed to dilute and later destroy their great culture and empire - which was supposed to be the "rightful" super power in the Middle east.

.Agent.

osamaxas (not verified)

at 09:57 on October 29th, 2009

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