Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard said it launched ballistic missiles from “the depths of the Earth” on Wednesday during the last day of military exercises near sensitive Gulf waters.
A video posted online by a news agency linked to Iran’s state television showed clouds of dust before the missiles fell into the sky.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that it was “the first time in the world” that such an exercise had been carried out.
He praised “the successful launch of ballistic missiles from the depths of the Earth in a completely camouflaged manner” as an “important achievement that could pose serious challenges for enemy intelligence organizations.”
The IRGC said it also dropped Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jet bombs to attack predetermined positions on Bani Farur Island in Iran’s territorial waters.
“These launches were carried out without the usual rig and equipment,” IRGC Chief of Brigade General Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said on state television.
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Iran fires missiles at US aircraft carrier during exercise |
“Buried missiles suddenly pierce the ground and hit their targets with precision,” he said, adding that this happened “for the first time in the world.”
USA: ‘Irresponsible’ missile launch
The launches came a day after the Guard hit a model of a US aircraft carrier with missile discharges near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for a fifth of global oil production.
The military exercise comes at a time of high tension between Tehran and Washington.
The US military said the maneuvers caused two bases with US troops in the region to go on high alert and said Tehran’s missile launches were irresponsible.
In recent years, there have been periodic clashes in the Gulf between the IRGC and the U.S. Army, which accused the Iranian navy of dispatching fast-attack ships to harass U.S. warships while passing through the strait. from Hormuz.
Sworn enemies have been on the brink of direct confrontation twice since June 2019, when Iran shot down a U.S. drone in the Gulf.
His animosity intensified after Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone attack near Baghdad airport in January.
Tehran, which opposes the presence of the United States and other Western navies in the Gulf, annually hosts phased naval war games on the strategic waterway, the conduit for approximately 30 percent of all crude oil and other products. marketed by sea.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
