Iran begins 3-days of missile drills

TEHRAN, July 2 (UPI) -- Iran's military began three days of tests Monday on different types of missiles, an Iranian general said.

Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps missile systems, said the exercise -- called Great Prophet 7 -- would test missiles targeting hypothetical enemies, Iran's IRIB agency and Press TV said Monday.

Short-, medium- and long-range missiles would be tested, the general said.

"These maneuvers send a message to the adventurous nations that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is standing up to the bullies alongside the determined and unified Iranian nation, and will decisively respond to any trouble they cause," the guard's official Sepah Web site quoted him as saying.

Hajizadeh said Iran will soon announce a new ballistic missile called "Arm" that has a range of 300 kilometers (184.6 miles) and is capable of traveling more than three times the speed of sound, Press TV said. The new missile can target radar and anti-missile defense systems including Israel's Iron Dome system, he said.

"If the [Zionist regime of Israel] makes a [wrong] move, they will give us an excuse to wipe them off the ... planet," Press TV quoted Hajizadeh as saying.