For the first time in 2018, Iran test-fired a ballistic missile to send a message to the US, months after President Trump pulled America out of the nuclear deal and days before the Islamic Republic was slapped with new sanctions.
The test of Iranian Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile was conducted as part of Islamic Republic’s large-scale naval exercise by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces late last week.
Although the naval activity was publicly acknowledged by the U.S military, the missile test from an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps base in Bandar-e-Jask has not been reported previously. The U.S. spy satellites detected the missile launch.
The anti-ship Fateh-110 Mod 3 was launched over 100 miles on a flight path over the Strait of Hormuz to the Iranian desert test range. “It was shore-to-shore,” said one U.S. official.
When Iran conducted the test, there were no american military assets nearby or in danger, the official added. No comments were made by the Pentagon on the suspected missile launch, but said that the recent military drills were clearly sending “message” to the US about Iran’s capabilities.
About 20% of world’s oil supplies are transported through the Strait of Hormuz, from Iraq Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Iran, to Asian markets in Korea, China, India, Singapore and Japan. Any closure or blockade of the strait, no matter how short, would have great economic repercussions and could lead to the demise of global economy.