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Iran boasts of testing 2nd new missile
TEHRAN -- Iran said Sunday that it has test-fired what it described as a sonar-evading underwater missile just two days after announcing it fired a new missile that could carry multiple warheads and evade radar systems. The new missile is among the world's fastest and can outpace an enemy warship, Gen. Ali Fadavi of the Revolutionary Guards told state television.Fadavi said only one other country has a missile that moves underwater as fast as the model he described, which he said has a speed of 328 feet per second. State television showed what it described as the missile being fired. "The missile carries a very powerful warhead that enables it to operate against groups of warships and big submarines," he said. He contended that the vessels that would launch the missile are able to evade detection systems but that, "even if an enemy's warship sonar can detect the missile, no warship can escape from this missile because of its high speed." The missile's speed would make it about three or four times faster than a normal torpedo and as fast as the world's fastest known underwater missile, the Russian-made VA-111 Shkval, developed in 1995. It was not immediately known if the Iranian missile was based on the Shkval. The new weapon gives Iran "superiority" against any warship in the region, Fadavi said, in a veiled reference to U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf. It was not immediately clear whether the projectile can carry a nuclear warhead. Fadavi said that the missile launched Sunday was the result of six years of work. The test, as well as the one described Friday, was part of a week of naval maneuvers in southern Iran along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. They involve 17,000 members of the Revolutionary Guards. The news agency IRNA said the maneuvers were intended to display "the country's defensive capabilities." The underwater missile, called the "Hoot," or "whale," could raise concerns over Iran's power in the gulf, a vital corridor for the world's oil supplies and where the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is based. During Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s, Iranian ships attacked oil tankers in the waterway. The United States and its Western allies have been watching Iran's progress in missile capabilities with concern. Iran possesses the Shahab-3 missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and hitting U.S. forces in the Middle East. Iran's military show of force follows increasing international pressure over its nuclear program. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council urged Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities and asked the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency to report back on Iran's compliance within 30 days. Iran has refused to comply. The video broadcast Sunday showed crew members on a submarine and described them as preparing to launch the missile. Another film clip supposedly showed it being fired into the water from the deck of a ship. The Revolutionary Guards air force chief called the weapon tested Friday as "a very advanced missile." Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Aliasghar Soltanieh, told CNN on Sunday that he does not believe that the weapon could carry a nuclear warhead. "The world should not worry because any country has its own self-defense conventional military activities," he said. Posted by: Steve 2006-04-03 |
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