Iran Fires New Long-Range Missile

Tehran defies US with new test
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2017 8:31 AM CDT
Iran Says It Test-Fired New Missile
Zolfaghar surface-to-surface ballistic missiles are displayed in an annual pro-Palestinian rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 23, 2017.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran says it has successfully test-fired a new long-range ballistic missile, a "Khorramshahr" with a range of around 1,240 miles. State-run media released video of the missile being fired around midnight Friday, hours after it was unveiled at a military parade, though it's not clear when the test actually took place, NBC reports. Iran says the missile, which is capable of hitting Israel, can carry several warheads. The missile is named after a port city Iran retook at heavy cost during its war with Iraq.

The test is expected to raise tensions between Iran and the US, where President Trump accused the country of building "dangerous" missiles in his United Nations address on Tuesday. "Iran is sending another signal of defiance taken straight from the North Korean textbook," BBC analyst Kasra Naji says. Naji calls the missile test a "borderline case" for the United Nations Security Council. Iran has agreed to limit its nuclear weapons program, but it says the missiles it has been testing are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. (More Iran stories.)

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