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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Stage Second Day of Missile Tests Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Stage Second Day of Missile Tests
(about 4 hours later)
TEHRAN — The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran conducted a second successive day of missile tests on Wednesday, saying two rockets had successfully hit targets over 850 miles away. TEHRAN — The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran conducted a second successive day of missile tests on Wednesday, firing two rockets that it said hit targets over 850 miles away.
The missiles were launched from the eastern part of the Alborz mountain range that hugs the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, the semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported.The missiles were launched from the eastern part of the Alborz mountain range that hugs the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, the semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported.
The head of the Revolutionary Guards’ missile program, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said the rockets had a range of about 1,200 miles and were capable of hitting the “Zionist regime,” Iran’s name for its archenemy Israel, the semiofficial news agency Mehr reported. While Iran has riled conservative critics of last summer’s nuclear deal with a succession of missile tests, it is not clear whether the latest activity violates any proscriptions.
Another semiofficial news outlet, Fars, reported that the missiles had text written on them in Hebrew, saying, “Israel must be wiped off the map.” On images said to be of the launch, there was no such text visible on either of the two missiles. Before the signing of the accord with the United States and international powers, Iran was barred under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 from any work on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. That resolution was revoked with the nuclear deal and replaced by Security Council Resolution 2231, which “calls upon” Iran to abstain from such activity.
The second day of tests seems to be aimed at provoking an Israeli reaction, and it also appears to be a message to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s other regional rival, not to threaten the Islamic republic, analysts say. Tehran says that it has a right to pursue defensive weapons systems and that, since it has given up any semblance of a nuclear program, it cannot in any event be working on a nuclear capability.
“We have huge reserves of various range ballistic missiles that are ready to target enemies and their aims, at any time, from different points of the country,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, told reporters on the sidelines of the missile-firing drills in Kavir, Qum Province, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
The Obama administration concluded that an earlier round of missile tests in the fall violated the new resolution and prepared a list of sanctions against individuals and businesses involved in the launchings. It then infuriated congressional Republicans by delaying its application until after the nuclear deal went into effect.
The administration has not yet said whether it believes these tests violate the resolution. A State Department official said the matter would be raised at the Security Council, and congressional Republicans promised to introduce new sanctions against Iran.
Iranian commanders seemed to go out of their way to antagonize Western governments, as well as to impress upon regional rivals like Saudi Arabia the extent of their arsenal.
“Taking into account that Hezbollah has stored more than 100,000 missiles,” General Salami said, “the Islamic republic possesses 10 times more missiles of different types, and its power is unlimited.”
Coming on a day when Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, the second round of tests seems to be aimed at provoking an Israeli reaction. The head of the Revolutionary Guards’ missile program, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said the rockets had a range of about 1,200 miles and were capable of hitting the “Zionist regime,” Iran’s name for its archenemy Israel, the semiofficial news agency Mehr reported.
Fars reported that the missiles had text written on them in Hebrew saying, “Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth,” an allusion to the famous declaration by the former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, the missiles seen in photographs of the launch did not seem to carry any text.
Mr. Biden did not directly address the missile tests, but he did speak about Iran’s nuclear ambitions in relation to regional security and Mr. Netanyahu’s well-known opposition to the nuclear deal. “A nuclear-armed Iran is absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and the United States,” he said. “If, in fact, they break the deal, we will act.”