Ante Up: Iran missile-test threaten US' Hormuz operations
Ante Up: Iran missile-test threaten US' Hormuz operations
The Straits of Hormuz has been the scene of simmering military posturing between Washington and Tehran in recent weeks, with neither side willing to back down, or lose face
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Tehran routinely shows off its military hardware in shows of force [Archive/AFP]
Iran has successfully test-fired a naval-missile in the straits of Hormuz, according to a report in the Revolutionary Guards Corps affiliated Tasnim news on Thursday.
The missile, named the Hormuz 2, has a range up to 300 km (180 miles). Its testing is likely to cause concern in corridors of power in Washington, with US vessels active in the Hormuz strait, an important shipping channel between the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.
"The naval ballistic missile called Hormuz 2 this week has successfully destroyed a target which was 250 km away," said Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, as reported in Tasnim.
Around 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the corridor, which is also the stage of regular military posturing between Iran and the US.
On Monday the Pentagon slammed recent Iranian activity around the Strait of Hormuz as "unsafe and unprofessional” citing two recent incidents deemed threatening by US officials.
On March 2 an Iranian frigate came within 150 meters of the 2,300 tonne USNS Invincible, causing it to change direction. This was followed on March 4, when a number of small Iranian assault craft once again came within 350 meters of the Invincible - which houses extensive radars specialised in tracking missiles - and three British-coalition ships.
Iran has denied any wrongdoing, instead laying blame on Washington, with one Revolutionary Guards commander quoted in Iranian state media on Wednesday stating that the US would face
"irreversible consequences of such unprofessional actions” if they continued.
In January the USS Mahan destroyer vessel fired a number of warning shots at an Iranian patrol boat in the Straits of Hormuz.
US officials said at the time that the Iranian boats sped toward it and failed to halt despite cautionary moves from the American craft.
Since 2015 the US has increased its naval presence in the Straits of Hormuz, and Arabian sea at a time when its ally Saudi Arabia is conducting airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels participating in Yemen’s civil war.
Iran backs the Houthis, and is also accused of sending weapons to the group which is waging a war against the UN-backed, exiled government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, an accusation Tehran denies.
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