Iran to stage missile wargames from Monday

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Iran to stage missile wargames from Monday

By Vahid Reza Alaei | AFP – 17 minutes ago

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are to launch military exercises on Monday

with the firing of different range ballistic missiles, the state news agency

IRNA reported.

The exercises, codenamed Great Prophet-6, are to start on Monday, said a Guards

commander, General Ami Ali Hadjizadeh, quoted by IRNA, without specifying how

long the manoeuvres will last.

" Short-, medium- and long-range missiles will be fired, especially the

Khalij-Fars, Sejil, Fateh, Ghiam, and Shahab-1 and -2 missiles, " he said.

The general, whose force carries out wargames each year in the Gulf region, said

the latest exercises were " a message of peace and friendship to the countries of

the area. "

In late May, Iran said it had equipped the Revolutionary Guards with a new

surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam-1, which was built locally and test-fired

last August.

Iran says it has a wide range of missiles, some capable of striking targets

inside arch-foe Israel as well as US bases in the Middle East.

The Islamic republic regularly boasts about developing missiles having

substantial range and capabilities, but Western military experts cast doubt on

its claims.

Iran's missile programme is under the control of the Guards.

Its space and missile programmes have been a concern in the West, which fears

Tehran is developing a ballistic capability to launch potential nuclear weapons

which it suspects Iran aims to develop under the guise of its civilian atomic

programme.

Iran has steadfastly denied these Western charges, saying its nuclear and space

programmes have no military objectives.