The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have fired ballistic and cruise missiles during war games in the Gulf.
Reuters on Tuesday reported Iran’s state TV as linking the war exercises to heightened tensions between Tehran, on the one hand, and the United States and Israel, on the other, over possible plans by the Jewish state to attack Iranian nuclear sites.
“The use of ballistic missiles by the Revolutionary Guards’ navy is a new concept … and they hit their targets with 100% precision,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said of the five-day drills which began on Monday.
Iran says its ballistic missiles have a range of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) and are capable of reaching its arch-enemy to the west, Israel, and US bases in the region.
On Monday, Iran warned of a “crushing” response to any move against it by Israel, which opposes efforts by world powers to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and has long threatened military action if diplomacy fails to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear bomb.
Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear arsenal, with some 200 to 300 such bombs in waiting.
Iranian media have reported that Tuesday’s exercises also included the simultaneous firing of five cruise missiles and the launch of armed drones capable of hitting two targets each.