Iran Continues Violation of Nuclear Deal by Testing Ballistic Missile

Iran's Khoramshahr missile is displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade marking the 37th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran. (AP)
Iran's Khoramshahr missile is displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade marking the 37th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran. (AP)
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Iran Continues Violation of Nuclear Deal by Testing Ballistic Missile

Iran's Khoramshahr missile is displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade marking the 37th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran. (AP)
Iran's Khoramshahr missile is displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade marking the 37th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran. (AP)

Iran announced that it had carried out a “successful” test for the new medium-range Khoramshahr missile, local media said.

The test comes as the latest violation by Tehran of the 2015 nuclear agreement that it signed with six world powers. It also comes in defiance of warnings from Washington that it was ready to ditch the deal.

State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday.

It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone.

The broadcaster did not say when the test had been conducted, although officials had said on Friday that it would be tested "soon".

The Khoramshahr missile was unveiled during a Friday parade marking the beginning of the Iraqi-Iranian war in 1980. It is named after a city in southwestern Iran that was occupied by Iraqi forces in the beginning of the eight-year war that left 1 million people dead.

Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said the new Khoramshahr missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and can carry multiple warheads.

Iran says all of its missiles are designed to carry conventional warheads only and has limited their range to a maximum of 2,000 kilometers, although commanders say they have the technology to go further.

Tehran claims that its tests are completely comply with the nuclear deal because the missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Washington however rejects the justifications, saying that Tehran is violating the “spirit” of the nuclear agreement. It recently impose new sanctions against it for continuing with its missile program and tests.



Iran Attack on Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used for US Communications, Satellite Photos Show

This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
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Iran Attack on Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used for US Communications, Satellite Photos Show

This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)

An Iranian attack on an air base in Qatar that's key to the US military hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show.

Hours after the publication of this AP report, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile had hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage.

The Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar's capital, on June 23 came as a response to the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran — and provided Iran a way to retaliate that quickly led to a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage — likely because of the fact that the US evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command, before the attack.

Trump also has said that Iran signaled when and how it would retaliate, allowing American and Qatari air defense to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise didn't tip over into the regional war long feared by analysts.

Images show burn marks, dome gone after attack

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack.

The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Photos show a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome.

Images taken June 25 and every day subsequently show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images.