Iran missiles armed and aimed at Gulf warships
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Iran missiles armed and aimed at Gulf warships*
From correspondents in Tehran
August 16, 2007 03:13am
Article from: Reuters
IRANIAN missiles can hit warships operating anywhere in the Gulf and
Oman Sea, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said today, the
day US officials said they might label his forces "terrorists".
But the speech by Commander-in-Chief Yahya Rahim Safavi, according to a
report carried by Iran's Fars News Agency, made no mention of the US
threat to brand his units.
“Our coast-to-sea missile systems can now reach the breadth and length
of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea and no warships can pass in the Persian
Gulf without being in range of our coast-to-sea missiles,” Cmdr Safavi said.
Iran, locked in a standoff with Washington over its nuclear plans, has
previously boasted it had missiles that could sink “big warships” in the
Gulf, a region where US aircraft carriers and warships operate.
The US is seeking to isolate Iran over what it says is Tehran's bid to
build nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear program.
Iran insists its atomic plans are directed at making electricity to
preserve its oil and gas for exports.
Cmdr Safavi also said Iran's missiles with a range of 2000km were fitted
with equipment that enabled them to be remote controlled, an apparent
reference to the Shahab-3 missile, although he did not name it.
That missile could hit Israel.
Cmdr Safavi said the Revolutionary Guards ground forces had missiles in
its arsenal that could penetrate the armour plating which he said was
fitted to Israel's Merkava tanks and the US Abrams tanks.
US officials said they may soon designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Corps a foreign terrorist organisation in a move targeting the finances
of the group.
Iranian officials could not be reached for comment.