In news that is not very positive for Middle-East peace prospects, IRINN, the state broadcaster in Iran has broadcasted images of ballistic missiles being tested that it claims could easily reach US military bases in the region.

The nation said on Wednesday that it can destroy nearby US military bases and strike Israel within minutes of an attack on the Islamic Republic. This comes at a time of heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, and earlier reports of Israel and the US being part of significant cyber-assaults on Iran’s key infrastructure. Israel and the US have hinted at the possibility of military strikes against Iran if sanctions and diplomacy do not rein in Iran’s nuclear development programme. The West suspects Iran may be aiming to build nuclear weapons. Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes.

The video shows the elite Revolutionary Guards, conducting the war games in Iran’s central desert. They said that the missiles were aimed at mock-ups of foreign military bases. The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Gen. Ami Ali Hajizadeh of the Revolutionary Guards as saying US bases are in range of Iran’s missiles and could be hit in retaliatory strikes. He referred to Israel as “occupied territories.”

[Source: The Telegraph]