Shafaq
09-10-2006, 04:02 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/09/10/MNGB8L2TAP1.DTL&type=politics
Video of Iran's test missile called fake
Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times
Sunday, September 10, 2006
(09-10) 04:00 PDT Washington -- U.S. military intelligence has determined that a video released by the Iranian government purporting to show a test of a new submarine missile is bogus, three Pentagon officials confirmed.
The Iranians released the video Aug. 27, one of a series of steps the Tehran government has taken in recent months to display its military potency in the midst of a confrontation with the United States and other Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.
The test apparently was designed to intimidate Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which are U.S. allies and important oil-producing countries, regional experts said. The video showed what appeared to be a successful test of a submarine-fired missile that flies above the water's surface to attack ships.
But U.S. intelligence officers analyzed the plume of smoke from the missile and determined it matched a video of an earlier Chinese test.
"It's the identical launch," a Pentagon official said. "The plume, everything, is the same."
U.S. officials have been unable to confirm whether any test took place during the Iranian exercise. They say they are certain, however, that the video of the purported test is not of an Iranian sub in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely tracking developments in Iran in an attempt to monitor Tehran's efforts to build up its nuclear capabilities as well as its conventional military capacity. The surveillance efforts are part of what experts see as a strategic contest of increasing complexity, with the two nations working to decipher each other's motivations and intentions.
The purported missile test, which was announced by Iran's official news agency a day before the video was released, was made public days before an Aug. 31 deadline set by the United Nations for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment.
The test video was broadcast on Iranian state television and picked up around the world, including by CNN and Fox News.
What has American military officers scratching their heads is why the Iranians would see the need to release a bogus video.
"They have enough things they can do to frighten people, I don't know why they would have to fake something," a senior defense official said. "They are frightening enough as it is without faking things."
Iran said it was conducting the missile test as part of a summer war games exercise in the Persian Gulf that began Aug. 19. U.S. military officials believe such exercises are aimed primarily at intimidating gulf countries.
"It is like when the missiles went through Red Square in front of the Politburo," a military official said. "Their MO is to put on a media blitz."
The officials asked that their names not be used because the Defense Department had decided not to publicize the discovery of the bogus test. Taking on the role of superpower tattletale could exacerbate already tense relations, or potentially provoke more, real tests.
Pentagon officials said Iran possessed several Russian Kilo-class submarines, the kind of sub shown in the Chinese video. Iran's growing naval capability is real, said the senior official, which is what made the use of bogus video seem particularly "clumsy."
"They do have a serious military capability," the official said. "They are a growing military problem."
:frown3:
Video of Iran's test missile called fake
Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times
Sunday, September 10, 2006
(09-10) 04:00 PDT Washington -- U.S. military intelligence has determined that a video released by the Iranian government purporting to show a test of a new submarine missile is bogus, three Pentagon officials confirmed.
The Iranians released the video Aug. 27, one of a series of steps the Tehran government has taken in recent months to display its military potency in the midst of a confrontation with the United States and other Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.
The test apparently was designed to intimidate Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which are U.S. allies and important oil-producing countries, regional experts said. The video showed what appeared to be a successful test of a submarine-fired missile that flies above the water's surface to attack ships.
But U.S. intelligence officers analyzed the plume of smoke from the missile and determined it matched a video of an earlier Chinese test.
"It's the identical launch," a Pentagon official said. "The plume, everything, is the same."
U.S. officials have been unable to confirm whether any test took place during the Iranian exercise. They say they are certain, however, that the video of the purported test is not of an Iranian sub in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely tracking developments in Iran in an attempt to monitor Tehran's efforts to build up its nuclear capabilities as well as its conventional military capacity. The surveillance efforts are part of what experts see as a strategic contest of increasing complexity, with the two nations working to decipher each other's motivations and intentions.
The purported missile test, which was announced by Iran's official news agency a day before the video was released, was made public days before an Aug. 31 deadline set by the United Nations for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment.
The test video was broadcast on Iranian state television and picked up around the world, including by CNN and Fox News.
What has American military officers scratching their heads is why the Iranians would see the need to release a bogus video.
"They have enough things they can do to frighten people, I don't know why they would have to fake something," a senior defense official said. "They are frightening enough as it is without faking things."
Iran said it was conducting the missile test as part of a summer war games exercise in the Persian Gulf that began Aug. 19. U.S. military officials believe such exercises are aimed primarily at intimidating gulf countries.
"It is like when the missiles went through Red Square in front of the Politburo," a military official said. "Their MO is to put on a media blitz."
The officials asked that their names not be used because the Defense Department had decided not to publicize the discovery of the bogus test. Taking on the role of superpower tattletale could exacerbate already tense relations, or potentially provoke more, real tests.
Pentagon officials said Iran possessed several Russian Kilo-class submarines, the kind of sub shown in the Chinese video. Iran's growing naval capability is real, said the senior official, which is what made the use of bogus video seem particularly "clumsy."
"They do have a serious military capability," the official said. "They are a growing military problem."
:frown3: