Iran claims to have successfully tested 2,000km-range missiles capable of hitting Israel - which opponents say can carry nuclear warheads. Tehran
military chiefs hailed the accuracy of the weapon, claiming it can
leave the Earth's atmosphere before hitting its target 'without error'. It is the latest ballistic missile to be
test-fired in defiance of the West.
'A missile
with a 2,000-kilometre range was tested two weeks ago,' said General Ali
Abdolahi, adding that it has a negligible margin of error of just eight
metres (yards).
'We
can guide this ballistic missile. It leaves the Earth's atmosphere,
re-enters it and hits the target without error,' the armed forces deputy
chief-of-staff said, quoted by the website of state broadcaster IRINN.
In early
March, Iran carried out several short, medium and long-range (300 to
2,000 kilometres) precision missile tests across its territory, mostly
from underground bases.
The series of tests have come in for criticism from the United State, Britain, France and Germany.
They say the tests violate United Nations resolutions, and they have called on the Security Council to address them.
Opponents of
the programme say the weapons are capable of carrying nuclear warheads,
an argument categorically denied by Tehran's political and military
authorities.
Tehran's ballistic missile tests in late 2015 brought new sanctions by the US against Iran on January 17.
The
punitive measures were announced a day after international sanctions
were lifted following the entry into force of a July 2015 nuclear
agreement.
Iran's
parliament, whose mandate expires at the end of May, passed new
legislation this month that raises the country's ballistic capability.
President
Hassan Rouhani and senior Iranian military officials have also said in
recent months that ballistic missiles must be enhanced in order to boost
Iran's deterrent power.-Mailonline
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