Iran’s Revolutionary Guard tests missiles amid tensions with the United States

Tehran – The paramilitary forces of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran carried out a military exercise on Saturday with ballistic missiles designed against a simulated target in the Indian Ocean, state television reported, at a time of high tension for the nuclear program of Tehran and the US pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Television footage showed two missiles crashing into a target that Iranian state television described as “hypothetical hostile enemy ships “ at a distance of 1,120 miles. The report did not specify the type of missiles used.

In the first phase of the maneuvers, the Guard’s aerospace division on Friday launched several ground-to-ground ballistic missiles and drones against simulated enemy bases in the huge country center desert, state television reported. The images also showed four drones in the shape of a triangle flying in a compact formation, before colliding and exploding against their targets.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen amid a series of incidents stemming from President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear deal with various world powers. In Trump’s last days as president, Tehran recently intercepted a South Korean oil tanker and began enriching uranium closer to ballistic grade levels, while the United States sent B-52 bombers to the region, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and a nuclear submarine.

In recent weeks, Iran has stepped up its military maneuvers as the country tries to pressure President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the United States in the nuclear deal. Biden has said the United States could rejoin.

On Thursday, Iran fired cruise missiles during naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported, under surveillance of what appeared to be a U.S. nuclear submarine sent to the region.

The Iranian Navy did not identify the submarine, but a news page affiliated with state television said Saturday the ship was American. Images of the exercise recorded from a helicopter and published by the Iranian Navy showed what appeared to be the USS Georgia submarine, which the U.S. Navy said last month had been sent to the Persian Gulf.

Images of the exercise recorded from a helicopter and published by the Iranian Navy showed what appeared to be the USS Georgia submarine, which the U.S. Navy said last month had been sent to the Persian Gulf, an unusual announcement intended to highlight U.S. military power in the region.

Iran has missiles capable of reaching up to 1,250 miles, enough to reach its archenemy Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. Last January, after Washington killed a prominent general in Baghdad, Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases with U.S. soldiers, causing concussions to dozens of them.