Posted on 12/30/2011 12:01:42 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Tehran said it will test-fire missiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a move likely to stoke tensions with Washington already running high over Iran's threats to close the strategic oil waterway if sanctions are enforced.
"Shorter- and longer-range, ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles will be tested on Saturday," the ISNA news agency quoted Iran's navy spokesman, Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, as saying on Friday.
Iran, which has been carrying out war games in the Strait of Hormuz over the past week, has said that "not a drop of oil" would pass through the strait if Western governments follow through with planned additional sanctions over its nuclear programme.
The US State Department said on Thursday that Iran's threat to close the waterway, through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes, exhibited "irrational behavior" and "will not be tolerated."
The naval manoeuvres launched by Iran in the strait on December 24 have so far included mine-laying and the use of aerial drones, according to Iranian media.
Analysts and oil market traders have been watching developments in and around the Strait of Hormuz carefully, fearing that the intensifying war of words between arch foes Tehran and Washington could spark open confrontation.
With tensions over the straight simmering, Iran-rival Saudi Arabia announced that it had signed a deal to buy 84 new US fighter jets in order maximise defence capabilities in the oil-rich kingdom.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ballistic missiles are launched during the second day of military exercises for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards at an unknown location in June. Tehran said it will test-fire missiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a move likely to stoke tensions with Washington. (AFP Photo/Rouholla Vahdati)
Its on!!!
Where is the rest of the world on this matter?
Iran is way over the line
Iranian soldiers take part in naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. A showdown between Iran and the United States over Tehran's threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers ...
In this file picture, obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Iranian troops prepare rockets on a launcher during a military drill near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow strategically located waterway ...
EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. A rocket fires from a military boat during ...
We need someone on our side to be willing to push the button. Islam is not a religion, it’s a barbaric, sadistic, political philosophy that must be destroyed. Be preparded to kill or be killed. Bottom line.
Mach rings
We should “test-fire” some missiles into their nuclear facilities.
Great opportunity to test that new anti-missile laser.
FUBHO and FUIRI.Both make the world unsafe for mankind.
If one of their missiles hits one of our ships, will Obama apologize for spoiling their ‘test’?
Hopefully the laser get’s tested while the Iranian missile is still stationary at it’s launch site.... Happy 4th of July Ahmadinejad
Iran ‘tests medium-range missile’
Iran has test-fired a medium-range missile during military exercises in the Gulf, state media report,
amid rising tensions over its nuclear programme.
A new medium-range missile is fired from a naval ship during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 1, 2012. Iran test-fired a new medium-range missile, designed to evade radars, on Sunday during the last days of its naval drill in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency quoted a military official as saying. REUTERS/Jamejamonline/Ebrahim Norouzi
Iran test-fires missiles in Gulf exercise
An Iranian long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (Capable) is launched during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman's shore near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 2, 2012. REUTERS/Jamejamonline/Ebrahim Norouzi/Handout
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it had successfully test-fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear program.
The announcement came at the climax of 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf, during which Tehran has warned it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of world oil is shipped, if sanctions were imposed on its crude exports.
Analysts say Iran's increasingly strident rhetoric, which has pushed oil prices higher, is aimed at sending a message to the West that it should think twice about the economic cost of putting further pressure on Tehran.
"We have successfully test-fired long-range shore-to-sea and surface-to-surface missiles, called Qader (Capable) and Nour (Light) today," Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told state television.
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