Iran: Firing Missiles into Indian Ocean

IRGC’s aerospace commander, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, told reporters in Tehran today that his forces has test-fired two long-range missiles into the Indian Ocean earlier this year, reportedly hitting their targets [IRNA, 9 July].

Gen. Hajizadeh reported that the missiles had a range of 1,900 km (1,180 miles) and were fired from the central Iranian province of Semnan. Hajizadeh said the missiles were fired in the Iranian calendar month of Bahman (21 January to 20 February).

During the Great Prophet 6 military exercises in June, Iran launched 14 surface-to-surface missiles, including Shahab-3, Shahab-2, Shahab-1 and Zelzal.

Great Prophet 6 Maneuvers (3) - Ghadir Radar

Ghadir radar system operational

From PressTV:

A top Iranian commander says the Ghadir radar system with a range of 1,100 kilometers in radius and a height of 300 kilometers has become operational in the country for the first time.

“The Ghadir radar has been designed and manufactured to discover air targets, radar-evading planes, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and satellites at low orbits,” Commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Wednesday, Fars news agency reported.

After the IRGC unveiled underground ballistic missile silos on the first day of the Great Prophet 6 military maneuvers on Monday, the Ghadir radar system also become operational, the commander went on to say.

Iran shows downed US drones to Russia

From Fars News Agency:

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced on Tuesday that Iran has allowed a number of Russian experts to see the several US drones the IRGC has shot down over the Persian Gulf in recent years.

"Russian experts asked to see the airplanes and we allowed them to see the shot-down drones as well as the reversely engineered models made by the IRGC," Hajizadeh told reporters.

Referring to the IRGC's defense and combat power in confrontations against US drones in the Persian Gulf, he said that the drones were shot down in free waters and also in those regions under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Earlier this year, a senior Iranian military official had confirmed reports on the shooting down of several enemy drones over the Persian Gulf, and said Iran has targeted a large number of these pilotless planes during the last 7 years.

"We have experienced similar incidents many times in the past and there have even been drones belonging to the occupying Zionist regime (Israel), the United States and Britain which have been shot down in the Persian Gulf during the past 7 years," the senior military official told FNA in January.

Also in January 2007, the Iranian military troops shot down a spy plane of the US army when trying to cross Iran-Iraq borders in the Southwestern city of Dasht-e-Azadegan, Khuzestan province.

Great Prophet 6 Maneuvers (2)

Images from day two of Great Prophet 6

click to enlarge

Shahab-3 (Meteor-3) medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM)

Shahab-3 MRBM launch

Shahab-2 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM)

Shahab-2 SRBMs and launch (2 fired in total)

Zelzal (Earthquake) SRBM fixed position triple launchers with support vehicle

Zelzal SRBM triple launchers and launch

Zelzal SRBM launch

Exhaust plumes from solid-fueled Zelzal SRBMs (9 fired in total)

IRGC/ASF missile crewmen

IRGC/ASF Commander reiterates Iran's missile policy

According to Reuters:

A senior Revolutionary Guard commander says Iran is capable of producing even longer range missiles than the ones it has now but won't make them because Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf are already within its reach.

[IRGC/ASF Brigadier General] Amir Ali Hajizadeh says the Guard's arsenal includes missiles with a range of up to 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers).

Hajizadeh claimed on Tuesday that Iran "possess the technology" but has "no intention of producing" the missiles with the over-2,000-kilometer range.

Previously, IRGC Commander Major General Jafari expressed the same policy for Iran's missile forces, as an element of Iran's defense based on deterrence.

Photos:
Mohammad Hassanzadeh at Fars News Agency
Mehr News Agency

Great Prophet 6 Maneuvers (1) - Silo Missile Launch

From PressTV:

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has unveiled underground ballistic missile silos on the first day of the Great Prophet 6 military maneuver.

"The silos are a part of the swift reaction unit of the [IRGC] missile brigade; missiles are stored vertically, ready to be launched against pre-determined targets," Fars News Agency quoted the IRGC spokesman in charge of the drills, General Asghar Qelich-Khani, as saying on Monday.

Qelich-Khani said the country has been using domestically-built missile silos for fifteen years and added that the newer generation silos are operational from a launch control center located far from the launch pads.

The main advantage of missile silos is the reduced launch time as the weapons need not be moved or aligned prior to launch.

On Sunday, Commander of the Aerospace Division of the IRGC Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh short-, medium- and long-range missiles, namely Khalij Fars (Persian Gulf), Sejjil (Baked Clay), Fateh (Conqueror), Qiam (Rising), Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles would be fired during the war games.

Hajizadeh stressed that Great Prophet 6 maneuver has completely defensive objectives and will be staged with the message of peace.

We tend to think of IRGC/ASF missile forces employed as a deterrent force affording potential second-strike capability against aggression by US and/or Israeli military forces. But there are other potential aggressors in the region such as the GCC or its elements. In addition, any aggressor (arguably other than the U.S.) will have its resources exceeded by such multiple means of deployment, providing a more expansive sense of deterrence.

Added to this is the technical advancement offered by silo development and construction, as well as providing another psychological deterrent against externally-applied prompting of Iran out of its self-imposed "Japan option" stance, that is to say going from nuclear weapon capable to a fully operational and deployed nuclear weapon.

And it provides greater leverage in any bargaining or posturing, among powers in the neighborhood.

One thing's for sure: it's unrealistic to assume these people are eventually going to back down or reverse themselves through externally applied coercion or intimidation tactics.

Video H/T: kiarash at IMF
YouTube rendering: redemptionway