The missile tests, described by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a show of force in the face of US pressure, come just weeks after the implementation of Iran’s historic nuclear deal with world powers.
After similar tests on Tuesday, Washington had warned it could raise the issue with the UN Security Council and take further action after US sanctions were imposed in connection with Iran’s missile programme in January. US Vice-President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the United States would take action against Iran if the missile tests were confirmed.“All their conventional activity outside the (nuclear) deal, which is still beyond the deal, we will and are attempting to act wherever we can find it,” Biden said during a visit to Israel and the Palestine.
He said Washington was also ready to act if Iran breaks the nuclear agreement.
The hard-fought deal, which saw international sanctions lifted in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, did not extend to its missile programme.
Wednesday’s tests saw two Qadr-H and Qadr-F precision missiles fired from launcher trucks tucked in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran, hitting targets about 1,400 km away in the southeastern Makran area, the Guards said. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace wing, said US efforts would have no impact on Iran’s missile programme.
“The more our enemies increase the sanctions, the more intense the Guards’ reaction” will be, Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
The deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, said the tests were to demonstrate Iran’s “defence and deterrent power”.
“We have massive stockpiles of ballistic missiles waiting for orders and ready to hit targets at any moment from various points across the country,” Salami said. — AFP
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