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Iran tests more missiles, says capable of reaching Israel

09 March 2016 17:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday that it said were designed to be able to hit Israel, defying U.S. criticism of similar tests carried out this week, APA reports quoting Reuters.

State television showed footage of two Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran which the IRGC said hit targets 1,400 km (870 miles) away. Tests on Tuesday drew a threat of new sanctions from the United States.

"The reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2,000 km is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist regime from a safe distance," Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the ISNA agency. The nearest point in Iran is around 1,000 km (621 miles) from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The Obama administration is aware of the latest tests, U.S. officials said. "Just as with the earlier reported test launches, we will look at these and take the appropriate response, both at the U.N. and unilaterally as appropriate," said a senior administration official who did not want to be named.

Iranian agencies said the missiles tested on Wednesday were stamped with the words "Israel should be wiped from the pages of history" in Hebrew, though the inscription could not be seen on any photographs.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel Radio the tests showed Iran's hostility had not changed since implementing a nuclear deal with world powers in January, despite President Hassan Rouhani's overtures to the West.

"To my regret there are some in the West who are misled by the honeyed words of part of the Iranian leadership while the other part continues to procure equipment and weaponry, to arm terrorist groups," Yaalon said.

The IRGC maintains dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles, the largest stock in the Middle East. It says they are solely for defensive use with conventional, non-nuclear warheads.

Tehran has denied U.S. accusations of acting "provocatively", citing the long history of U.S. interventions in the Middle East and its own right to self-defense.