Iran fires missile from submarine
Ewen MacAskill – The Guardian Monday August 28, 2006
Iran test-fired a long-range missile from a submarine in the Persian Gulf yesterday.
Iranian state television carried a video clip showing the missile being launched and hitting a target.
The show of military strength came less than 24 hours after the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, formally opened a heavy water plant.
An Iranian navy commander, Sajjad Kouchaki, quoted on the broadcast, described the missile as Iranian-built, "with a very high speed and destructive power. It is also radar-evading."
Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, said yesterday that any punitive measures by the west would not deflect Iran from its pursuit of nuclear power for civilian purpose.
"Production of nuclear fuel is our right," he told state radio. "Any measure to deprive Iran of its right will not change our mind about our aim."
Mohammad Reza Baqheri, the deputy foreign minister, said that Iran would never halt uranium enrichment. "It is our red line. We will never do it," he told the official IRNA news agency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1859615,00.html
Last updated 01/09/2006