Iran launches long-range missile

Al Jazeera reports:

Iran has test-launched a missile with a range of up to 2,000km, putting Israel, US bases in the Middle East and parts of Europe within striking distance.

The successful test was announced by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, on Wednesday, as campaigning for the June 12 presidential election officially started.

“… we launched a Sejil-2 missile, which is a two-stage missile and it has reached the intended target,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northern city of Semnan, close to the launch site.

Analysts say the range of the surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile is between 1,200km and 2,000km.

A US defence official confirmed the launch, saying that the missile appeared to be consistent with Tehran’s older Ashura models, long known to US intelligence.

Ahmadinejad, whose moderate challengers in the June 12 vote accuse him of isolating Iran with his anti-Western speeches, said the country had the power to send any attacker “to hell”.