Teheran also tested cruise missile: Report

BERLIN • Iran has tested a cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons, in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt reported yesterday, citing unspecified intelligence sources.

No comment was immediately available from Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency or from Iranian authorities.

If confirmed, the test will further infuriate the White House, which has already warned Iran over the ballistic missile test.

Die Welt said the Sumar cruise missile, built in Iran, travelled around 600km in its first known successful test. It is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and could have a range of up to 3,000km, said the paper, citing intelligence sources.

Cruise missiles are harder to counter than ballistic missiles as they fly at lower altitudes and can evade enemy radar, confounding missile defence missiles and hitting targets deep inside an opponent's territory.

The biggest advantage from Iran's point of view, a security expert told Die Welt, is that cruise missiles are not mentioned in any United Nations resolutions that ban work on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of most sanctions. Under a 2015 UN resolution endorsing the deal, Iran is still called upon to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 03, 2017, with the headline Teheran also tested cruise missile: Report. Subscribe