Iran launches tactical missiles
Iran’s army has fired tactical surface-to-surface Saega (Thunderbolt) missiles during its war games on Sunday, the state television reported.
The report said the army would also test surface-to-sea missiles on Sunday. It did not identify the missiles by name but said the weapon had been developed by Iranian scientists
Iran‘s army launched war games in the south of the country on Saturday and said a whole range of new, indigenous-built equipment would be tested. It did not say how long the war games would last.
The Saeqa missiles have a range of 80-250km (50-160 miles).
Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the ideology-driven wing of the armed forces, which has a separate command structure from the regular military, had held war games in the Gulf in April when they tested new missiles, torpedoes and other equipment.
Analysts interpreted those war games as a thinly veiled threat that Iran could disrupt vital oil shipping lanes if pushed by an escalation in the nuclear dispute.
Iran is embroiled in a nuclear standoff with the West.
It is due to reply by August 22 to a demand by major powers that it suspend uranium enrichment in return for trade and technical concessions. It denies accusations by Western countries that it is seeking nuclear bombs.