Friday, March 31, 2006

U.S. Says Iran's Missile Test Indicative Of A Military Program

Dow Jones Newswires:
Iran's successful test of a nuclear-capable missile demonstrates Iran's "very active and aggressive military program" that is worrisome to the world, the U.S. State Department said Friday. READ MORE

The announcement in Tehran said the missile's range would depend on the weight of its warhead. Iran's air force chief, Gen. Hossein Salami, said independently guided payloads could hit several targets simultaneously.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said he had no technical details on the test firing, but "I think it demonstrates that Iran has a very active and aggressive military program under way."

The description, he said, includes "efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction as well as delivery systems."

"I think Iran's military posture, military development effort, is of concern to the international community," Ereli said. Evidence, he said, "is the kind of consensus you're seeing with regard to their nuclear program as well as other nonproliferation concerns."