Report: Iran tests 2 short-range missiles in war games
Islamic Republic TV says tests included multiple missile launcher. On Monday, state radio reports, elite Revolutionary Guards to test-fire missile that could reach Israel
Iran tested two short-range missiles as its elite Revolutionary Guards began several days of war games on Sunday, state television reported.
Iran's English-language television channel Press TV said the tests also included a multiple missile launcher.
"Iran tests two short-range missiles," Press TV said in a scrolling headline. It earlier said new missiles had been tested, without giving details.
State radio reported that on Monday Iran would test-fire a missile which defense analysts have said could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf region.
It said the surface-to-surface Shahab 3 missile would be tested on the second day of missile maneuvers by the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Iran says the Shahab 3, which has been tested several times in the past, can travel about 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles).
The missile maneuvers coincide with increased tension in Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, after last week's disclosure by the Islamic Republic that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.
Last May, Iran said it had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf.
'Western clamor will affect talks'
Meanwhile Sunday, an Iranian official warned that "fabricated Western clamor" over the second uranium enrichment plant would negatively affect its coming talks with world powers, state radio reported.
Iran's ambassador to the UN's nuclear agency watchdog, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, made the comment a few days before Iran is due to hold a rare meeting with representatives of six world powers in the Swiss city of Geneva on October 1.
The United States, which suspects Iran is seeking to build nuclear bombs, has previously expressed concern about Tehran's missile program. Iran says its nuclear work is for peaceful power generation purposes.
US President Barack Obama said on Saturday the discovery of a secret nuclear plant in Iran showed a "disturbing pattern" of evasion by Tehran that added urgency to Thursday's talks.
Iran has rejected Western criticism over the plant's construction near the holy city of Qom, saying it is legal and open to inspections from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iranian state radio said Soltanieh criticized "fabricated Western clamor" about the facility: "This Western approach will have a negative impact on Iran's negotiations with the 5+1 countries," he was quoted as saying, referring to the six powers.
