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Iran tests underwater missile, increasing tensions with the West(New York Daily News (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) WASHINGTON _ Iran tested a high-speed underwater missile Sunday in a show of force that upped the ante in the international showdown over its nuclear ambitions. It was the second provocative test in a three-day show of force featuring maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iran claimed its new torpedo, dubbed the "whale" or "hoot," could travel at 223 mph, evade radar and destroy large ships and submarines. "It has a very powerful warhead designed to hit big submarines," Iranian Gen. Ali Fadavi told state TV. "Even if enemy warship sensors identify the missile, no warship can escape from this missile because of its high speed." Iran released video of its ship killer a day after it announced the successful test of a radar-ducking missile that carries multiple warheads and can easily strike Israel. The military display comes amid rising tension with the West over Iran's nuclear program. Iran last week refused a UN Security Council demand that it cease enriching uranium, a key step toward building a nuclear bomb. Iran's actions raised new alarm in Washington on Sunday, after a news report that Iran would respond to any pre-emptive strike by the United States with global attacks on Americans by terror squads. "I think we have to recognize that this Iranian issue does represent a real threat to the United States," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said on CNN. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told the network that Iran would also retaliate against an attack by cutting the oil flow from the Persian Gulf. "There are all sorts of practical and adverse consequences to using military force," Bayh said. "But the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran, the foremost sponsor of terrorism in the world, are just as, if not more, grave." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview broadcast in London on Sunday the United States hopes diplomacy works, but will not take away the military threat. "The president of the United States doesn't take his options off the table," Rice said on ITV. "We are committed to a diplomatic course because we believe that a diplomatic course can work." An Iranian official Sunday complained about the U.N. Security Council's condemnation, and said the council should stay out of Iran's business. "The more the United Nations Security Council is engaged and involved, the situation will be further deteriorated. And we have to prevent confrontation," Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, Iran's ambassador to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, told CNN. ___ (c) 2006, New York Daily News. Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected]. |