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‘Iran has an aggressive military programme’

* US says new missile shows Iran’s programme includes efforts to develop WMDs

WASHINGTON: Iran’s successful firing of a new radar-evading missile capable of striking several targets simultaneously shows that it has an “aggressive military programme under way,” the US State Department said on Friday.

The Iranian-developed missile can also “hide from radars and evade anti-missile missiles,” Iranian Brigadier General Hossein Salami told state television in Iran.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the move “demonstrates that Iran has a very active and aggressive military programme under way.”

Their programme includes “efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction as well as delivery systems,” he said.

Iran is currently under mounting international pressure over its disputed nuclear energy drive, which Israel and several western nations believe is a cover for weapons development. Tehran denies the charges. “I think Iran’s military posture, military development effort, is of concern to the international community, as evidenced by the kind of consensus you’re seeing with regard to their nuclear programme as well as other non-proliferation concerns,” Ereli said.

The Security Council late on Wednesday unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to abandon uranium enrichment activities – which Iran promptly refused to comply with.

Iran’s Salami did not disclose the new missile’s range. Iran already has medium-range Shahab-3 missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometres, putting arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the Middle East within reach.

Multiple warhead missiles are often placed on inter-continental ballistic missile rockets, which usually have a range of more than 5,000 kilometres. afp

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