Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

    TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian officer said on Sunday that Iran successfully test-fired a high-speed underwater missile earlier in the day, the state television reported.

A TV grab shows the test-firing in Gulf waters of a new Iranian high-speed underwater missile capable of destroying huge warships and submarines. (Xinhua/AFP)

    The underwater missile with the highest speed of 360 km perhour can hit any warship as no warship can take enough time to escape from the attack even though it detects the missile, AliFadavi, deputy navy commander of Iran's elite militia -- the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was quoted as saying ata military maneuver site in the south of the country.

    Defining the underwater missile as the fastest of its kind in the world, Fadavi said it could carry powerful warhead capable of destroying large submarines.

    The missile test-firing was part of a week-long massive joint naval maneuver in the Persian Gulf aimed at promoting the Islamic Republic's military capability in the region.

    In February 2005, Iran launched a production line of torpedoes,which, according to then Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, marked completion of "the Islamic Republic's defensive cycle at sea."

    Accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly, the United States and Israel have threatened to launch preemptive attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.

    In response, Iran says it will counterattack any invasion andit is capable of defending the country with "deterrent power" in the Middle East.

    IRGC Commander-in-Chief Yahya Rahim Safavi said in January that Iran would react with missile counterpunches in case that the country was attacked.

    Iran's upgraded Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile has analleged range of 2,000 km, which means that Tehran is capable of striking Israel or any other target in the region. Enditem

Iran test-fires new missile with success

TEHRAN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday successfully test-fired a missile with radar-dodging and multi-targeting capabilities in a naval maneuver, state television quoted a senior officer as reporting.