Iran test fires missiles in riposte to U.S., Israel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards test-fired nine long and medium range missiles Wednesday during war games officials say are in response to U.S. and Israeli threats, state television reported.

Gen. Hossein Salami, the Guards' navy commander, was quoted as saying the exercise, dubbed "The Great Prophet 3," would "demonstrate our resolve and might against enemies who in recent weeks have threatened Iran with harsh language." The drill was conducted in the Persian Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormouz.

State television said the missiles fired included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which officials said has a range of 2,000km (1,250 miles). The Shahab-3 is equipped with a conventional warhead weighing one ton, it said.

The missile tests come less than a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed fears that Israel and the U.S. could be preparing to attack his country, calling the possibility a "funny joke."

"I assure you that there won't be any war in the future," Ahmadinejad told a news conference Tuesday during a visit to Malaysia for a summit of developing Muslim nations. Watch footage of the missiles being fired »

Iranian officials have been issuing a mix of conciliatory and bellicose statements in recent weeks about the possibility of a clash with the U.S. and Israel.

Israel's military sent warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean for a large military exercise in June that U.S. officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which the West fears are aimed at producing atomic weapons.

Iran says its nuclear program is geared only toward generating electricity, not weapons.

For months, Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials have said they don't believe the U.S. will attack because of its difficulties in Iraq, domestic worries and concerns over the fallout in the region.

At the same time, Tehran has stepped up its warnings of retaliation if the Americans -- or Israelis -- do attack, including threats to hit Israel and U.S. Gulf bases with missiles and stop oil traffic through the vital Gulf region.

Wednesday's war games were being conducted at the mouth of the Strait of Hormouz, a strategic waterway where about 40 percent of the world's oil passes through.

In late June, Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, who was then the commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said any attempt by Iran to seal off the strategic Strait of Hormuz would be viewed as an act of war. The U.S. 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, across the Gulf from Iran.

Last month's Israeli exercise was widely interpreted as a show of force as well as a practice on skills needed to execute a long-range strike mission.

Shaul Mofaz, an Israeli Cabinet minister, set off an international uproar last month by saying in a published interview that Israel would have "no choice" but to attack Iran if it doesn't halt its nuclear program. Mofaz is a former military chief and defense minister, and has been Israel's representative in a strategic dialogue on Iran with U.S. officials.

The Guards and Iran's regular army routinely hold exercises two or three times a year.

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