Iran flexes military muscle

2006-04-03 16:48

Tehran - Iran extolled its military prowess on Monday as it held large-scale war games in the Gulf, warning the west not to "play with fire" at a time of mounting tensions over its nuclear programme.

The Islamic republic said it would test later on Monday a "powerful" torpedo developed by its elite ideological army, the revolutionary guards, after the successful firing of a high speed underwater missile at the weekend.

The manoeuvres, which Iran says were planned long before, coincide with a critical phase in the dispute over its nuclear ambitions, which the United States alleges is a cover for a weapons programme. Tehran denies the charges.

"After weeks of psychological warfare (over the nuclear issue), they (the west) expected that we back down and give up our rights," the head of Iran's Islamist militia, the Basij, General Mohammad Hejazi said on state television.

"Not only we did not do that, but we showed our capabilities by these manoeuvres," he boasted.

Those responsible will pay 'high price'

"The security of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea is everybody's interest; our economic interests depend on the Persian Gulf as the world energy supply depends on this region," Hejazi said.

But he added that "if the region is not to be safe, the ones responsible for it will pay a high price... The enemies must know they should not be playing with fire".

On the manoeuvres' first day, on Friday, Iran said it had tested a new missile, which can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously, using multiple warheads.

The high-speed underwater missile successfully launched on Saturday was capable of destroying large warships and submarines.

The spokesperson for the weeklong military exercise said more missiles would be test-fired within days and that Iranians would have "important news that will make them proud", without specifying what type of missiles would be launched.

"One of the messages of the war games for the enemies is that if they slightly violate the Islamic republic's interests in the Persian Gulf, we will firmly confront them," Rear Admiral Mohammad Ebrahim Dehqani was quoted as saying.

"These manoeuvres have worried the American and British forces in the region and they are on alert," he added.

- SAPA