A recent launch of an Iranian missile that was allegedly capable of striking Israel was fake, a news report said this morning.
On Friday, Iranian state TV released footage claiming to show the launch of a new type of medium-range ballistic missile just a few hours after it was publicly displayed during a military parade.
However, U.S. officials say that the launch depicted in the video was from a January test and involved a different missile altogether. And that launch failed; the missile exploded shortly after liftoff.
At the time, Iran was attempting to launch its new Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile for the first time. It flew 600 miles before exploding upon a failed reentry attempt.
Video: #Iran successfully test-fires new ballistic missile
Details: https://t.co/eKHi0jXnED pic.twitter.com/30XkB8ddbP— Press TV (@PressTV) September 23, 2017
That said, the missile shown publicly during Iran’s parade is based on a North Korean design—Pyongyang’s BM-25 Musudan ballistic missile, which has a maximum range of nearly 2,500 miles. If the problems are worked out, the missile would certainly be capable of striking all of Israel and all U.S. forces in the region.
Last week a senior Iranian general said the missile only had a range of about 2,000 km, or 1,250 miles.
The Khoramshahr missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers [1,250 miles] and can carry multiple warheads,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Revolutionary Guards aerospace chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh as saying.
Senior U.S. officials say the missile has a much longer range.
“I am not sure why the Iranians are lying about the range,” one U.S. official remarked. “I think they don’t want to piss the Europeans off.”
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