The Times of Israel :
Iran said Tuesday its armed forces had conducted new ballistic missile tests to demonstrate “deterrent power” and the country’s “all-out readiness to confront threats” against its territorial integrity.
The announcement was carried by the official IRNA news agency, describing a military drill in which “ballistic missiles were fired from silos” in different parts of the country. Israel has pointed to continued ballistic missile tests as proof Tehran plans to continue pursuing a nuclear weapon, despite a landmark deal signed with world powers last year that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
There was no immediate reaction to the fresh tests
from Israel or other countries. The latest tests, called “The Power of Velayat”, a reference to the religious doctrine of the Islamic republic’s leadership, were undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards and Aerospace Forces, IRNA reported.
Sepah News, the Guards’ official media service, carried a statement confirming the missile tests, which come less than two weeks after elections in Iran delivered gains to politicians aligned with Hassan Rouhani, the country’s moderate president.
The Revolutionary Guards report to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not Rouhani, and their influence dwarfs that of the army and other armed forces. Washington imposed new sanctions over Iran’s missile program in January, almost immediately after lifting separate sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program under the nuclear deal, following ballistic missile tests carried out in October of the new Emad guided ballistic missile.
Under the nuclear deal, the UN arms embargo on the country continues, as do ballistic missile restrictions.
Following ballistic missile tests in October, Britain, France, Germany and the US all demanded a UN investigation into the launches, and a UN committee later determined they violated a Security Council resolution that prohibits Tehran from launching ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced last month mass production of the Emad missile, a medium-range rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, would begin in the near future.
Iran said Tuesday its armed forces had conducted new ballistic missile tests to demonstrate “deterrent power” and the country’s “all-out readiness to confront threats” against its territorial integrity.
The announcement was carried by the official IRNA news agency, describing a military drill in which “ballistic missiles were fired from silos” in different parts of the country. Israel has pointed to continued ballistic missile tests as proof Tehran plans to continue pursuing a nuclear weapon, despite a landmark deal signed with world powers last year that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
There was no immediate reaction to the fresh tests
from Israel or other countries. The latest tests, called “The Power of Velayat”, a reference to the religious doctrine of the Islamic republic’s leadership, were undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards and Aerospace Forces, IRNA reported.
Sepah News, the Guards’ official media service, carried a statement confirming the missile tests, which come less than two weeks after elections in Iran delivered gains to politicians aligned with Hassan Rouhani, the country’s moderate president.
The Revolutionary Guards report to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not Rouhani, and their influence dwarfs that of the army and other armed forces. Washington imposed new sanctions over Iran’s missile program in January, almost immediately after lifting separate sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program under the nuclear deal, following ballistic missile tests carried out in October of the new Emad guided ballistic missile.
Under the nuclear deal, the UN arms embargo on the country continues, as do ballistic missile restrictions.
Following ballistic missile tests in October, Britain, France, Germany and the US all demanded a UN investigation into the launches, and a UN committee later determined they violated a Security Council resolution that prohibits Tehran from launching ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced last month mass production of the Emad missile, a medium-range rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, would begin in the near future.
