I.R.G.C. Test-Fires Naval Ballistic Missile amid Heightening Tension with U.S.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) has “successfully” test-fired a naval missile destroying a floating target more than 100 miles away, the Iranian media reported earlier today. According to I.R.G.C.-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, the Hormuz 2 is a domestically-built naval ballistic missile capable of destroying moving targets at sea at ranges up to 180 miles. “We launched the Hormuz 2 missile this week, and this missile successfully destroyed the target 250 kilometers away,” I.R.G.C. Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said. He added that this is one of the most advanced Iranian missiles, which was designed by Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, an I.R.G.C. general who was killed in an explosion in Tehran in 2011. Moghaddam is hailed in Iran as the main architect of the country’s missile system.

Comment: The latest I.R.G.C.’s missile test comes as the Iranian and U.S. naval forces have recently had dangerous encounters in the Persian Gulf. Just days ago, the Iranian military test-fired two ballistic missiles and sent fast-attack boats close to a U.S. Navy ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz region. American officials confirmed that the U.S. Navy, which operates warships in the region, had an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction with the I.R.G.C. boats last Saturday. The I.R.G.C. boats reportedly reached within 600 yards of the tracking ship U.S.N.S. Invincible, which was forced to change course. Last year, the U.S. Navy had a total of 35 encounters with the Iranian naval forces.