Iran Test-fires New Missile, Israel, US Bases Within Reach

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Iran said it test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile on Wednesday and was ready to defend itself against any attacker.

Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said the Sejil missile had ‘extremely high capabilities’ and was only intended for defensive purposes.

He said it had a range of close to 2,000 kilometres. That would enable it to reach Israel and US bases in the Gulf. “This missile test is in the framework of Iran’s deterrent doctrine,” the IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. “It will only land on the heads of those enemies,” said Najjar, without mentioning any country by name.

The US denounced Iran’s claimed missile test and warned Tehran to halt its ballistic missile programme ‘immediately’ amid a nuclear dispute with the West.

“We’ve consistently pointed out that Iran’s missile programme is a concern and this testing is another reminder of the importance of establishing a missile defence site in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend the US and Europe against a threat that is developing in Iran,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. agencies

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US Defense Official: Iran Will Soon Have Ability To Attack Europe, US

The head of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said Friday that Iran was not far from attaining the means of using missiles against all of Europe and against the US in five to six years, Israel Radio reported.

Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III was speaking in Prague in an effort to convince the Czech Parliament to approve a US missile defense installation in the country’s territory.

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Russian Flotilla Including Aircraft Carrier and Missile Cruiser Head For Middle East

As the West awaits Moscow’s threatened reprisal for the treaty installing American missile interceptors at Redzikowo, on Poland’s Baltic coast – signed in Warsaw Wednesday - the Kremlin is striking back in the Middle East – hence Russian president Dimitry Medvedev’s honeyed words of reassurance to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in a call he made to Jerusalem Wednesday, Aug. 20.

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that a powerful Russian naval contingent, led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov , left Murmansk on the Barents Sea Aug. 18 to dock at the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus Saturday, Aug. 23. It includes the Russian Navy’s biggest missile cruiser Moskva and at least four nuclear missile submarines.

At the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Syrian president Bashar Assad told reporters Thursday, Aug. 21, that he is considering a Russian request to deploy missiles in his country in view of Russian-Western tensions over the Georgian conflict, which he said had polarized East and West anew.

Assad signaled he would also be representing Tehran’s interests in his talks with Russian leaders. Jordan’s King Abdullah is on his way to join them later in the day.

Before the Russian flotilla departed Murmansk, Assad is reported by our sources as having given the nod for Tartus port’s conversion into a permanent Middle East base for Russia’s nuclear-armed warships.

Assad’s arrival coincided with a visit by a large Syrian military delegation Thursday at the Russian weapons manufacturing giant, the Kalinin Machines Plant, east of Moscow. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this plant makes sophisticated anti-air missile systems, including the S-300 and the BUK M, for which Damascus is bidding.

The Syrian ruler has said he is seeking closer military cooperation with Russia. The deal emerging from his visit is expected to cover the Russian Navy’s use of Tartus in return for a mutual defense accord providing Syria with a Russian nuclear umbrella and generous terms for his arms purchases.

Aug. 17, DEBKAfile first revealed Russia’s planned nuclear military deployments in the Middle East and Baltic to punish America for its missile deal with Poland and Georgia’s attack in South Ossetia. They would included the installation of Iskandar surface missiles in Syria and Kaliningrad.

DEBKAfile - Big Russian flotilla led by Admiral Kuznetsov carrier heads for Syrian port

Putin Said To Be Angered By Israels Sale of Weapons To Georgia

Russian security officials threatened retaliation against Israel for its weapons exports to Georgia including eight different aerial drones. Russian Deputy Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Israel supplied at least eight different models of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Georgia. Nogovitsyn said Israel has also sold a range of weapons and sought to export main battle tanks to Georgia.

Russian diplomatic sources said the government of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was furious over Israel’s refusal to impose a military embargo on Georgia. The sources said Putin’s aides had urged Israel several times to halt weapons exports. “We asked Israel not to sell offensive weapons to a hostile neighboring state, but they said they’re a sovereign state,” a diplomatic source said. “Well, Israel shouldn’t be surprised if we sell offensive weapons to Israel’s neighbors.”.

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