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Iran Runs First Missile Test Since US Withdrawal From Nuclear Deal

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Just days before new, stricter U.S. sanctions are implemented against Iran, the Islamic republic has test-fired an Iranian Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile — the first such test in at least a year and the first since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Three U.S. officials confirmed the launch to Fox News, saying that the test-fire came alongside an Iranian Naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz.

The test of an Iranian Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile coincided with a large-scale naval exercise by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces late last week involving over 50 small gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz to rehearse “swarm” tactics which could one day potentially shut down the vital waterway, through which 30 percent of the world’s oil passes each year.

The launch was picked up by U.S. spy satellites and showed the anti-ship Fateh-110 Mod 3 flying some 100 miles to a desert test range in Iran. There were no American troops or assets nearby or in any danger during either the naval exercise or the missile test.

Gen. Joseph Votel, speaking at the Pentagon on Wednesday, characterized Iran’s actions as defiant: “I think it’s pretty clear to us that they were trying to use that exercise to send a message to us that as we approach this period of the sanctions, they had some capabilities.”

Iran’s last two previous missile tests were conducted back to back in March of 2017.

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