Iran plans Gulf war games
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...2DB5EBF417.htm
Iran plans Gulf war games
Wednesday 01 November 2006, 18:15 Makka Time, 15:15 GMT
Iran has announced it will carry out war games in the Persian Gulf just days after six other nations, including the United States, held a series of exercises in the same area.
Iranian state television said the military manoeuvres - named "Great Prophet Two" - would take place in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman from Thursday.
"The war games are aimed at demonstrating the deterrent power of the [Iranian Revolutionary] guards against possible threats," General Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying.
Safavi stressed that the drills were not a threat to Iran's neighbouring countries, saying: "Our neighbours are our friends. The guards just want to prove that they ready to resist in any threatening situation."
US exercises
The announcement came two days after US-led warships finished a two days of exercises in the Gulf which were described by Iran as "adventurist".
Iran said the drills involving Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States would not improve security in the waters of the Gulf, through which about 20 per cent of the world's oil passes. It also called on Gulf nations to set up their own regional security arrangements.
The US-led manoeuvres focused on surveillance, with warships tracking a ship suspected of carrying components of illegal weapons.
Missile tests
Safavi also told state TV that the Iranian exercises would be used to test fire ballistic missiles.
"Missiles Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 with cluster warheads and a range of over 1,000km will be shot as well as hundreds of rockets and other missiles such as Fateh and Zolfaghar," he said
The Shahab-3 missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and has a range of more than 2,000km – enough to reach Israel and US forces based in the Middle East.
These will be the country's third war games this year.
In August, Iranian armed forces held a massive cross country military exercise called "Zolfaghar Blow" to test new weapons and tactics against a potential enemy. The first stage of the "Great Prophet" war games was held in April.
