http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-11-02T084251Z_01_BLA221126_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAN-MANOEUVRES.xml&src=rss
Iran fires missiles in war games: TV Thu Nov 2, 2006 3:43am ET137 TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired missiles able to carry cluster warheads at the start of ten days of military maneuvers on Thursday, state television said. Tehran had said the maneuvers, which will last until November 11 and include drills in the Gulf and Sea of Oman, would be a show of "defensive strength". Tensions between Iran and western powers are high as the latter try to agree a draft U.N. sanctions resolution aimed at forcing Tehran to scale back atomic work they fear may be used to make bombs. Iran says its aims are purely peaceful. "Dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles. The missiles had ranges from 300 km (190 miles) up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles)," Iranian state television reported, without showing any footage. A reporter for state-owned Arabic-language Al-Alam television earlier told Reuters from central Iran, near where he said the missiles were fired, that Shahab-3 missiles could carry cluster warheads. State television confirmed this. "Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab-3 missiles installing cluster warheads in them with the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs," state television said. It did not say whether the unarmed missiles fired were carrying warheads at the time. Experts say Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a maximum range of some 2,000 km (1,240 miles), making them capable of hitting Israel as well as U.S. military bases in the Gulf. They say the Shahab-2 missile has a range of up to 700 km (435 miles). Iran's maneuvers follow U.S.-led naval exercises involving 25 nations in the Gulf on Monday to train forces to block the transport of weapons of mass destruction and related equipment. U.S. officials accuse Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, of planning to equip its missiles with nuclear warheads. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear programme is aimed at making electricity not bombs. Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, had said before the war games ground, air and naval forces, including submarines, would take part in drills dubbed "The Greatest Prophet", mainly in the Gulf and Sea of Oman. The Revolutionary Guards, the ideologically driven wing of the armed forces which has a separate command structure from the regular military, held war games in the Gulf in April in which they tested new missiles, torpedoes and other equipment. Analysts interpreted those exercises as a thinly veiled threat that Iran could disrupt vital oil shipping lanes if pushed by an escalation in the dispute over the country's nuclear programme. © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
