Iran Test-Fires Long-Range Missiles
Posted by Wendy King on 09/28/2009
(CNN) — Days before a key meeting with Western leaders, Iran test-fired two types of long-range missiles Monday in part of what the Islamic republic called routine military exercises, its state-run media reported.
The tests drew condemnation from France, which noted through its Foreign Ministry that the action comes only a week after Iran revealed the existence of a covert uranium enrichment site.
“These tests can only reinforce the worries of countries in the surrounding region and the international community, especially as Iran is, in parallel, developing a nuclear program, with the existence of a clandestine uranium enrichment site having just been revealed,” the ministry said.
“We ask Iran to choose cooperation and not confrontation, immediately putting an end to its profoundly destabilizing activities and responding without delay to the demands of the international community in order to find a solution in this affair.”
Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is scheduled Thursday to meet with representatives of the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will also attend the talks Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a series of missile exercises Saturday to promote the armed forces’ defense capabilities, Fars News Agency reported. 
Watch the missile tests »
www.cnn.com
Posted by
Wendy King
on 09/28/2009. Filed under
International.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the
RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
We know Iran and Imadinajad do not have the technology or the know how to produce nuclear weapons and construct these sites. The media has not been addressing the real issue here. We need to know who has been helping Iran build and passing over the technology. The 1st sanction should be a complete ban on Iranian oil on he world market.
Knuts,
I have been following the subject very closely during the past number of years and what I have gleaned from readily available sources is that the country most collaborating with Ahmadinejad is primarily North Korea.
The so called second “secret” enrichment facility near the city of Qom has been under close satellite surveillance from it’s inception.
Just as they did in Syria, the North Koreans were used to build and fotify the secret nuclear facility there. When it was subsequently destroyed in a covert Israeli air strike, it was confirmed that a number of the dead included North Koreans.
The North Koreans have been instrumental to the Iranians in making use of their expertise in deep tunneling, and in building hardened bunkers. The result now is that the Iranians possess a facility that is considered virtually impregnable to a conventional attack.
The North Koreans have also colaborated closely in assisting the Iranian missile program, as have also the Russians and Chinese.
While both the Russians and Chinese have vetoed taking a stronger stance with further toughened sanctions, they both act as a willing weapons supplier to the Iranian military machine.
Our real fear should be how Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez will come up with a very similar nuclear program for Venezuela. Venezuela like Iran is in no need of nuclear energy for “peaceful purposes” but both leaders have made identical declarations. We should be thinking how we can tolerate a nuclear cartel that involves such countries as N.Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela and Cuba ? They each have a hand in each others pockets.
I do not approve, though still I do not condemn Iran. We attacked Iraq on an assumption that they had nuclear technology. We have nuclear power plants. If they are allowing inspections, who are we to stop the progress of those who are trying to better the country. what is good for the goose is good for the gander.