Iran missile test seen as a warning
WASHINGTON – Iran simultaneously test-fired at least nine medium- and long-range missiles early Wednesday, a fiery warning to the United States and Israel against attacking the country over its suspected nuclear ambitions.
The desert launches of the missiles, a type of which is believed capable of hitting Israel, was the latest escalation in a duel of psychological and diplomatic warfare between Iran and major world powers.
“This exercise was needed to practice how to deal a quick retaliatory blow against hypothetical attacks by enemies,” state-run TV quoted an Iranian military commander as saying.
The White House and two major presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, immediately condemned the missile launches.
Obama, who has advocated direct talks with Iran, said they highlighted the need for “direct and aggressive diplomacy,” backed by tougher sanctions.
McCain questioned the usefulness of past overtures to Iran and also called for more sanctions.
Analysts said Iran’s move appeared to be a direct response to a major military exercise conducted by Israel last month that some portrayed as a rehearsal for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has frequently called for Israel’s disappearance.
Iran has sent mixed signals in recent weeks about whether it is willing to enter negotiations with the United States and five other world powers over its nuclear program and other issues. The six powers have insisted as a precondition that it simultaneously freeze its enrichment of uranium that can be used in nuclear weapons.
Iran is weighing incentives that a European Union envoy delivered last month.
Experts on Iran say there is some evidence that the influence of Iranian moderates has grown as Ahmadinejad’s pugnacious rhetoric has led to a backlash abroad and at home.
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said: “The Iranians are not negotiating with Bush in mind,” but rather to position themselves for his successor.
Parsi said Wednesday’s missile tests aren’t necessarily incompatible with diplomacy. If the Iranians enter negotiations on the nuclear issue, he said, “They don’t want to give the impression they did so either because of Israeli threats, or because of U.N. sanctions.”
Meanwhile, a top State Department official told Congress Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear progress has been “modest” – an analysis that differs markedly from past comments by Vice President Cheney, Bush and other administration officials.
“While Iran seeks to create the perception of advancement in its nuclear program, real progress has been more modest,” Undersecretary of State William Burns, the department’s third-ranking official, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “It is apparent that Iran has not yet perfected (uranium) enrichment.”
Asked repeatedly by lawmakers whether U.S. military action is being weighed, Burns said none is being considered at this time.