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Iran tested nuclear-capable cruise missile

February 2, 2017 at 10:32 am

Iran has tested a cruise missile called “Sumar” that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt reported today, citing unspecified intelligence sources.

Since the German broadsheet made its report, no comment has been provided by either Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency or from Iranian authorities.

The newspaper said the Sumar cruise missile was built in Iran and travelled around 600 kilometres in its first known successful test. The missile is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have a range of 2,000 to 3,000 kilometres, the paper said, citing intelligence sources.

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

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

International sanctions on Tehran were lifted in January last year under a nuclear deal brokered in 2015 by Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States.

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

Though cruise missiles are not specifically mentioned in the text of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the text of the resolution does state: “Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

Die Welt’s report indicates that the cruise missile test, if true, may be a further contravention of the Iran nuclear deal and the Security Council resolution.

News of Iran’s reported cruise missile test came hours after Washington said it was putting Iran “on notice” for its ballistic missile test carried out on Sunday, and signalled that it could impose new sanctions.

Iran confirmed yesterday that it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, but said the test did not breach the Islamic Republic’s nuclear agreement with world powers or the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.