TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has successfully tested a ballistic missile, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency has reported.
The report quotes Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guard’s aerospace division, as saying the missile destroyed a target from a distance of 250 km. It said the sea-launched ballistic missile dubbed Hormuz 2 was tested last week.
The Hormuz 2 is capable of hitting floating targets with high accuracy within a range of 300 km, Fars said. It provided no additional details.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying the Revolutionary Guard had prepared a ballistic missile for civilian purposes, but plans to launch it were canceled after a threat by the US.
“We have prepared a ballistic missile for carrying a satellite for civilian purposes ... but some people sent it to the warehouse after a threat by the Americans. This behavior is humiliating,” he said.
In a separate development, IranAir has taken delivery of its second Western jet under a nuclear sanctions deal with major powers — an Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft, the European plane maker said on Friday.
The aircraft is expected to be used mainly on European routes and on flights to Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
It joins a medium-haul A321 delivered earlier this year.
Delivery was held up for several weeks by last-minute talks over its Rolls-Royce engines and spare parts, but comes in time for the Iranian new year later in March.
IranAir has ordered 100 jets from Airbus and 80 from Boeing under the sanctions deal. Iran is expected to take delivery of a second A330 in coming weeks.
Tehran successfully tests ballistic missile
Tehran successfully tests ballistic missile
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
