Iran Launches Huge Missiles Amid Drills12/05 06:05

   

   TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran launched massive missiles in the Sea of Oman and 
near the strategic Strait of Hormuz during the second day of a naval drill, 
state TV reported Friday.

   The report said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched the missiles 
from the depth of Iran's mainland, hitting targets in the Oman Sea and 
neighboring area near Strait of Hormuz in a drill that began on Thursday.

   It identified the missiles as cruise Qadr-110, Qadr-380 and Ghadir that have 
a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles.) It said the Guard also launch 
a ballistic missile identified as 303, without elaborating.

   TV footage showed the missiles' launch and hitting their targets.

   The drill is the second one following the Israel-Iran war in June that 
killed nearly 1,100 people in Iran, including military commanders and nuclear 
scientists. Missile attacks by Iran killed 28 in Israel.

   Since the end of the war, Iran has increasingly insisted that it is ready to 
counter any future Israeli attack. Iran launched its first naval drill in the 
area in August.

   Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is mainly in charge of operations in 
the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz. The national navy 
is in charge of Sea of Oman and beyond.

   Iran long has threatened to close off the Strait of Hormuz, through which 
20% of all global oil traded passes. The U.S. Navy has long patrolled the 
Mideast through its Bahrain-based 5th Fleet to keep the waterways open.