President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran had tested a missile that could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, in a move likely to add to Western concern about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Ahmadinejad announced the test on the same day campaigning for the June 12 presidential election officially started. A U.S. defense official also confirmed the launch.
One Western expert saw the missile test as Iran's response to the Israeli prime minister's U.S. visit this week.
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Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not say whether the U.S. military had any evidence of an Iranian missile test.
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The stated range of the surface-to-surface missile -- some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) -- would be almost as far as another Iranian missile, Shahab 3. Analysts say such weaponry could reach Israel, U.S. regional bases and southeastern Europe."The Sejil 2 missile, which has an advanced technology, was launched today ... and it landed exactly on the target," Ahmadinejad said.
Iran previously test-fired a Sejil last November, saying then it was a new generation of surface-to-surface missile.
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Related article on the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) website. The IRNA is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran.The Sejjil (also known as Sajjil or Sejil) is a two-stage solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM).
Here is a video from November 2008 of the first Sejjil missile launch. The video fails to show firing of the second stage however.
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