Iran war games to test cruise, anti-ship missiles

Iran's navy is to test two 200-kilometre (120-mile) range missiles and one shorter range missile in war games near the Gulf on Monday, a spokesman said, according to the ISNA news agency. The exercise was taking place on the final day of more than a week of navy drills that have raised concerns over Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance of the Gulf if more Western sanctions are imposed on Tehran. Navy spokesman Commodore Mahmoud Moussavi said "today (Monday), for the first time we are going to test a Ghader ground-to-sea long-range missile, a short-range Nasr missile and a surface-to-surface Nour missile," according to ISNA. The Ghader missile is said to be a cruise missile domestically produced by Iran. It is said to have a range of 200 kilometres, which is generally considered medium-range for a cruise missile, even though Moussavi called it "long-range." "The Ghader is an ultra-modern missile with an integrated, ultra-precise radar whose range and intelligent anti-detection system have been improved over previous generations," he said. The Nour and Nasr missiles are based on Chinese designs. The Nour missile is an anti-ship missile, also with a range of 200 kilometres. It is based on China's C-802 missile. Moussavi said the Nour missile to be fired "has been improved with its anti-radar and targeting system." An Iranian Nour missile was reportedly used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia in Lebanon to disable an Israeli warship during a 2006 conflict. The Nasr anti-ship missile is based on China's C-704 missile and has a range of 35 kilometres (22 miles). Iran has them mounted aboard patrol boats. Moussavi was quoted as saying that Syrian military observers would watch the tests.