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Iran Guards Test Missiles During Gulf War Games | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A member of Iran’s Revolutionary guard aim with an anti-personnel gun as he takes part in a war game in the Hormuz area of southern Iran. (R)


A member of Iran's Revolutionary guard aim with an anti-personnel gun as he takes part in a war game in the Hormuz area of southern Iran. (R)

A member of Iran’s Revolutionary guard aim with an anti-personnel gun as he takes part in a war game in the Hormuz area of southern Iran. (R)

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards test-fired five missiles on Sunday during war games in a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

The Islamic state, locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear work, often announces advances in its military capabilities and tests weaponry in an apparent bid to show its readiness for any attack by Israel or the United States.

The Guards’ exercises in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz coincided with rising tension between Iran and the West, which says Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at developing bombs. Iran denies the charge.

Last week, the Pentagon said U.S. military action against Iran remained an option even as Washington pursues diplomacy and sanctions to halt the country’s atomic activities.

Fars said naval units of the Guards fired five missiles at a target, without making clear if they were new.

“Despite the different places from which the missiles were fired , they all hit the target simultaneously and completely destroyed it,” Fars said.

The missiles were surface-to-surface and surface-to-sea.

On Thursday, Iranian media said the Guards successfully tested a new speedboat capable of destroying enemy ships.

The United States is pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities as demanded by the U.N. Security Council, including proposed moves against members of the Guards.

Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, has described Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence and has not ruled out military action.

Iran, a predominantly Shi’ite Muslim state, has said it would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. interests in the region and Israel, as well as closing the Strait of Hormuz. About 40 percent of the world’s traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the strategic narrows

Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops participate in military maneuvers, near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran. (AP)

Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops participate in military maneuvers, near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran. (AP)

Members of Iran's Revolutionary guard personnel monitor an area as they stand on top of a hill while taking part in a war game in the Hormuz area of southern Iran. (AP)

Members of Iran’s Revolutionary guard personnel monitor an area as they stand on top of a hill while taking part in a war game in the Hormuz area of southern Iran. (AP)