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Saturday, 23 September 2017

Iran tests new medium-range missile despite US warnings over weapons programme

Iran says it has successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of US criticism over its weapons programme, broadcasting a video of the launch on state TV.
The launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which has a range of 2,000 km (1242 miles), was broadcast on Friday, just days after Donald Trump criticised Iran's missile programme at the UN on Tuesday.
The latest ballistic missile, capable of reaching much of the Middle East, including Israel, came as the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would increase its military power “as a deterrent”.
Though Iran has long boasted of having missiles in the same range in its arsenal, it was the first time that the Khoramshahr was displayed in public. The report did not mention the time or location of the test.
It comes after the US announced fresh sanctions on Iran in July over its ballistic missile programme and what it claimed was the country's support for terror organisations.
It also imposed sanctions on Iran after a ballistic missile test in January, saying such launches violate the spirit of the 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
Mr Trump included Iran among a “small group of rogue regimes”, and said its government was bent on “death and destruction”, adding that a nuclear agreement was an “embarrassment” to the US.
Mr Rouhani responded by referring to a “rogue newcomer to international politics” and deplored the US leader's “ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric”, adding that his country would “not be the first” to violate the deal, which Mr Trump has threatened to pull out of.

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