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Iran test-fires missile possibly outlawed by nuclear deal

It came hours before the Iranian parliament approved the outline of the agreement..

By Ed Adamczyk

TEHRAN, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Iran tested its first long-range, precision-guided ballistic missile hours before its Parliament approved the outline of a nuclear agreement reached in July.

The test of the Emad surface-to-air missile may have violated the terms of the agreement, which specifies Iran cannot develop missiles "designed to carry nuclear warheads."

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It came prior to the Parliament's vote in favor of a bill supporting a basic version of the agreement reached between Iran and six world powers, including the United States. Legislators were denied specific information pertinent to the details of the agreement, and the session was contentious and argumentative.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization in Iran attended the parliamentary session to defend the deal. He said a hard-line legislator threatened to kill him and bury him "in the cement of the Arak heavy-water reactor," which, according to the agreement, will be converted to a less-dangerous, light-water reactor.

The liquid-propelled missile, manufactured entirely in Iran and based on a North Korean design, is an advancement over Iran's current stock of missiles in that its guidance is accurate to within 1,640 feet of a target and has a range of 1,056 miles, far enough to strike Israel, which is opposed to the nuclear deal.

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"To follow our defense programs, we don't ask permission from anyone," said Hossein Dehqan, Iranian defense minister, adding the new missile is "capable of scrutinizing the targets and destroying them completely."

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