US condemns Iranian missile tests
Iran-USA, Politics, 11/7/2006

A US government report noted that Iran opened its 10-day military exercise with tests of short and medium-range missiles.

Iran's ongoing military exercises in the Gulf are a "message of intimidation and fear," according to the commander of US naval forces in the region, US Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh.

"This is an exercise really meant to intimidate and provoke fear in those who live here," Walsh said in a November 3 interview with Fox News shortly after Iran tested three new naval missiles with a range of 170 kilometers, effectively extending the reach of its anti-ship missiles over the entire Gulf.

Walsh expressed particular concern over the threat the missiles pose to vessels traveling through the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, a 33-kilometer wide stretch of ocean between Iran and Oman through which 20 percent of the world's oil supply passes each day.

Iran tested three new types of sea-to-sea and land-to-sea missiles November 3, the Noor, the Kausar and the Nasr, as part of a 10-day military exercise dubbed "The Greatest Prophet." The previous day, Iran opened its exercises with tests of short and medium-range Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles. According to Iranian media outlets, the Shahab missiles are outfitted with cluster warheads and can deliver their payloads up to 2,000 kilometers away, putting the entire Middle East and parts of Central and South Asia within Tehran's military reach.

"The message that we're sending is that we're standing firm with our friends in the region," Walsh said.

Iran's exercises come less than a week after the United States led a 25-nation joint naval exercise in the Gulf simulating the interdiction of an illicit nuclear weapons shipment.

Iran's ongoing military exercises in the Gulf are a "message of intimidation and fear," says Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh.

Walsh dismissed any comparison between the two operations, saying the US-led exercises were part of a multinational law enforcement program aimed at preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

"During that exercise, not one shot was fired. And the simulation here was of... weapons of mass destruction in a cardboard box," he said.

Iran's military exercises come at a time when Tehran is locked in conflict with the international community over its nuclear program.

Previous Stories:
  Bushehr project in US efforts to create sanctions on Iran   (10/31/2006)
  US joint maneuvers in Persian Gulf dangerous: source   (10/23/2006)
  Revolt of American generals; call for US talk with Iran   (10/12/2006)

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