WASHINGTON, US - IRAN has test-fired two rounds of missiles, including a single medium-range Shahab-3 missile capable of hitting Israel, but does not appear to have tested new or enhanced technology, United States officials said on Thursday.
Officials from the Defence Department and US intelligence agencies said the two tests involved between seven and 10 missiles altogether and took place within hours of each other on Wednesday.
Teheran said it tested its second round of missiles on Thursday, but US officials said both rounds were fired on Wednesday. They were both completed by the time US Defence Secretary Robert Gates spoke to reporters at the Pentagon early on Wednesday afternoon, according to defence officials.
'There were two firings, the second of which involved a single missile,' said one defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the topic involves classified information.
News of the missile tests roiled the world oil market.
Rumours of a third test helped drive crude oil prices up by US$6 (S$8) a barrel on Thursday afternoon.
But US officials said there was no sign that a third test had taken place. 'There were two firings. That's it. That's all there's been,' the defence official said.
Officials said the firings appeared to be conducted in conjunction with Iranian military exercises and may also have included short-range weapons designed for use against ships in the Gulf.
'It does appear that they had a small military exercise last evening, very small,' an intelligence official said.
It was not clear which of the two firings involved the Shahab-3, a ballistic missile believed to have a range of up to 2,000km, which is classified as medium-range by the US military and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation though it surpasses the distance between Tel Aviv and Teheran.
There was no official word on whether the tests were successful.
The tests heightened worries of a possible confrontation between Iran and Israel or the United States over Teheran's nuclear programme. Washington and others say Iran seeks nuclear weapons under the guise of an energy programme, a charge Teheran denies.
Israel, which views a nuclear-armed Iran as a major threat to its security, conducted a large-scale air drill last month that fed speculation of a possible military confrontation. -- REUTERS
