Iran Challenges Trump’s Administration with New Ballistic Test

The new Iranian long range missile Khoramshahr (front) is displayed during the annual military parade. AFP
The new Iranian long range missile Khoramshahr (front) is displayed during the annual military parade. AFP
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Iran Challenges Trump’s Administration with New Ballistic Test

The new Iranian long range missile Khoramshahr (front) is displayed during the annual military parade. AFP
The new Iranian long range missile Khoramshahr (front) is displayed during the annual military parade. AFP

Iran announced on Saturday it had successfully tested a new medium-range ballistic missile in a new challenge to US President Donald Trump’s administration that hinted at the possibility of withdrawing from the Nuclear Deal.

Iran said the Khorramshahr ballistic missile can travel up to a range of 2,000 km and carries several warheads.

The state television carried footage of the launch and showed images of the missile without specifying the exact date when the photos were taken.

However, at a military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, an Iranian official said on Friday that the Khorramshahr would be capable to operate in a short time.

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said on Saturday foreign pressures would not affect Iran’s missile program.

“On the path to improve our country’s defensive capacity we will certainly not be the least affected by any threats and we won’t ask anyone’s permission,” he said in remarks carried by state television.

The Nuclear Deal between Tehran and major powers does not ban Iran’s ballistic activities. However, UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.

Iranian officials say all of the country’s missiles are designed to carry only conventional and not nuclear warheads and that Tehran does not have a program to develop nuclear weapons.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country refuses any restrictions on its ballistic program.

“Whether you like it or not, we are going to strengthen our military capabilities which are necessary for deterrence,” Rouhani said on Friday.

Trump is due to report to Congress on October 15 on whether Iran is still complying with the Nuclear Deal.

The US president said last Wednesday that he already made his decision in this regard but was still not ready to reveal it.

Both the European Union and Russia asked the US president not to withdraw from the deal with Tehran.

The calls did not stop French President Emmanuel Macron to assert that the deal was not sufficient anymore, adding that Iran should halt its destabilizing ballistic activities in the region, especially in Syria.



54 Migrants Rescued from Mediterranean Oil Platform

FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
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54 Migrants Rescued from Mediterranean Oil Platform

FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa

Over 50 migrants were headed to the Italian island of Lampedusa Sunday after a charity ship rescued them from an abandoned oil platform in the Mediterranean, where one woman gave birth.

The vessel Astral, operated by the Spain-based NGO Open Arms, rescued the 54 people overnight, the group said in a statement.

The migrants had been trapped on the oil platform for three days after their rubber boat shipwrecked following their departure from Libya on Tuesday, Open Arms said.

On Friday, one of the migrants gave birth to a boy, while another woman had given birth days before. Two other young children were among the group, Open Arms said, according to AFP.

Later Sunday, the charity said that, following the rescue of those on the oil platform, the Astral came upon another 109 people, including four people in the water.

That group, which included 10 children, had also departed from Libya, it said.
Open Arms said they provided life jackets to the migrants before they were rescued by another charity ship, the Louise Michel, which is sponsored by street artist Banksy.

The Louise Michel, a former French navy vessel, was transporting the migrants to a safe port in Sicily, Open Arms said.

It is not unusual for migrants crossing the Mediterranean on leaky and overcrowded boats to seek refuge on offshore oil platforms.

As of June 1, some 23,000 migrants had reached Italy by sea this year, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).