WarSclerotic

Iran says its missiles reached Indian Ocean for first time – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Two long-range missiles within range of striking Israel said to have been tested at the beginning of 2011.

By Reuters

Iran said on Saturday it test-fired two long-range missiles into the Indian Ocean earlier this year, the first time it has fired missiles into that sea, according to state television.

“In the month of Bahman (January 21 – February 19) two missiles with a range of 1,900 kilometers were fired from Semnan province (in northern Iran) into the mouth of the Indian Ocean,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace division, told a news conference some of which was shown on television.

	Iranian clerics wait for launch of a Shahab-2 missile, Qom, Iran, June 28, 2011.
	Photo by: AP

Iran usually tests its missiles in extensive deserts in the heart of the country, so the firing into the Indian Ocean is an unusual move, aimed to prove Tehran’s longstanding claims it can hit targets beyond its borders.

Television showed a missile being fired but the announcer did not specify if the pictures were of the Indian Ocean test-firing. No pictures were shown of a target being hit at sea.

The announcement came after a 10-day military exercise by the elite Guards that was designed to deter Iran’s enemies by showing Iran is ready and able to hit back at U.S. bases in the Middle East and at Israel.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military strikes on Iran if necessary to stop it getting nuclear weapons.

Iran says it has home-made missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers, designed specifically to hit U.S. interests and Israel. But it denies it is seeking nuclear bombs and the means to deliver them.

Analysts have often doubted Iran’s claims of technological progress in its defense industry which is under tight international sanctions due to Western concerns it is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

Hajizadeh said U.S. spy planes were operating in the area where the missiles hit. “It is interesting that they did not publicize it,” he said.

The Associated Press: Iranian commander: US carriers target if attacked.

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press – 38 minutes ago

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A senior Revolutionary Guard commander threatened Saturday that U.S. aircraft carriers would be targeted if Iran came under attack amid a standoff with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran has often warned of major retaliation if they faced a military strike from Israel or the West, but the latest comments appear tailored to emphasize the expanding range of Iranian missiles following 10 days of war games. The exercises included unveiling underground missile silos that Iran says is capable of multiple launches.

“Aircraft carriers … are moving targets. If the enemy threatens us, we will target them,” said Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guard’s aerospace force, in comments broadcast on state TV.

Hajizadeh also confirmed that Iran secretly conducted missile tests in February that he claimed hit targets at the “mouth of the Indian Ocean” — an apparent reference to areas near the Strait of Hormouz at the southern end of the Gulf. Hajizadeh gave no further details. In April, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard said Iran’s arsenal is capable of striking “remote regions outside the Persian Gulf.”

Iran has tried to project its military might outside the Gulf, where the U.S. has several air bases and the home port of the Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Iran has said its missiles can reach Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. Two Iranian warships entered the Mediterranean in February for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and an Iranian submarine returned this week after a journey that included the Red Sea.

Iran also says it has the ability to produce missiles with an even greater range than those currently in its arsenal, but won’t manufacture them because Israel and U.S. bases are already within reach.

Last month, British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that Iran has conducted covert tests of ballistic missiles since October in addition to the publicly announced military maneuvers.

Hajizadeh only confirmed that missile tests were carried out. It was not clear if the covert tests in February were the same as claimed by Hague.

The Islamic Republic remains locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program, which the U.S. and its allies suspect is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran denies the charges, and says the program is only for peaceful purposes.

Iran conducts several war games every year as part of its military self-sufficiency program that started in 1992, and frequently unveils new weapons and military systems during the drills.

Syrian security forces kill 15 as protests unabated – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Around 500,000 protesters took to the streets in the Syrian city of Hama on Friday.

By DPA

Tens of thousands of Syrians on Friday took to the streets across the country, defying a security crackdown to reject a national dialogue proposed by President Bashar Assad.

Around 15 in total were killed in different parts of the country after security forces fired live ammunition at anti-government protesters, activists said.

	Syrians carry national flags during a candle vigil in honor of those who were killed in recent violence, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, June 29, 2011.
	Photo by: AP

In the central city of Homs, “at least seven people were killed in the Al-Khaldiyeh neighbourhood by security forces who opened fire against demonstrators,” Abdel Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for Human Rights, said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 24 people were injured in Homs and that some people were gravely wounded.

Others were killed in the Damascus suburbs of Dumair and Zabadani, in the Midan area in the centre of the capital, and the coastal city of Banias, Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

Dozens were wounded, most of them in Damascus, Idlib and Douma, said the group, which has been documenting the protests since they began in mid-March.

More than 1,400 civilians and 348 security personnel have been killed since the protests, calling for Assad’s ouster, began in March, according to human rights groups.

Security personnel used force against the anti-government protesters in a bid to disperse them, as thousands took to the streets to voice opposition to the “national dialogue” conference.

“Dialogue cannot take place except within an appropriate atmosphere, because dialogue is not the goal, it’s only means for bigger goals,” a Homs-based activist, who identified himself as Abdel Hafez, said.

He said talks should discuss the country’s transition to a civil democratic state, and ways to implement it.

“There is no turning back before March 15. Those in power must not continue in their positions,” he told the German Press Agency dpa by phone.

Assad said last month that a national dialogue would start soon to review the laws on elections, the creation of new political parties other than the ruling Baath party, and consider changes to the constitution.

A meeting scheduled on July 10 seeks “to lay down the dialogue mechanisms and bases ahead of the national dialogue conference,” official media said.

Activists said that half million protesters took to the streets in the central city of Hama Friday, and there was no security presence there. The US and French ambassadors were in Hama in support of the protesters.

Although there was no violence in Hama, security moved to disperse protesters by force and tear gas in the southern city of Daraa, Homs and the Damascus suburb of Daraya.

Authorities also imposed a curfew in southern Inkhil, announcing it through loudspeakers in the town, broadcaster Al Arabiya reported.