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Iran test-fires two more new missiles

ran has successfully test-fired two more new missiles as the ongoing military maneuver in the south of the country was approaching its end, official media reported on Wednesday.
The state television said the Islamic Republic tested a new air- to-sea-and-ground missile with the capability of resisting electronic jamming systems and dodging anti-missile missiles.
The report defined the missile, dubbed "Nour," as a secret weapon marking a breakthrough in Iran's development of missiles.
Earlier, the official IRNA news agency reported that the armed forces on Tuesday successfully test-fired a highly precise anti- aircraft missile dubbed "Misaq" which can be launched from man's shoulder and is capable of hitting air targets.
"The speed of the missile is to the extent that no radar can detect it and its high speed protects it completely from being targeted in case of being detected by other warning systems," Mohammad Ibrahim Dehqani, spokesman of the war game, was quoted as saying.
"Misaq" and "Nour" were the Islamic Republic's fourth and fifth missile test-firing during the week-long war game
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Iran says war games tell U.S. not to meddle

The Supreme Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) declared on Wednesday that the week-long naval war games in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman by his forces serve as a warning to the United States “not to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs”, state television reported.
“The message of this great military exercise for [U.S.-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan] is for them not to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs”, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said on state television.
The powerful military chief warned the intelligence agencies of the United States “not to create insecurity in [the Iranian province of] Khuzestan and endanger security in the region”.
Safavi said the United States had to accept Iran as a “great regional power” and added that threats against Tehran would be of no use to the U.S. or Europe.
The general accused the “occupiers of Iraq and Afghanistan” of endangering regional security.
He warned the United States and Britain not to “hatch plots for the region”.
“We have intelligence that America and the countries occupying Iraq are trying to tarnish the image of Iran. They are giving the Iraqi people bad cement and expired medicines pretending they came from Iran in a bid to tarnish the image of our country in the eyes of Iraqis”, Safavi said.
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Iran military hints at Strait of Hormuz blockade

The Supreme Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, described on Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz on Iran’s southern shores as “the economic lifeline” of the West and said it could be used to put pressure on Iran’s enemies, state television reported.
About two-fifths of the world's oil supplies pass through the 50-kilometre-wide entrance to the Persian Gulf.
Safavi was speaking to reporters during the sixth day of weeklong naval exercises in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, dubbed “Great Prophet”. The general said that the area was of “immense military and geo-strategic importance” and that it linked the seaways of three continents – Africa, Asia, and Europe.
“Many industrial countries are dependent on the energy from this region. Japan gets 70 percent of its oil from this region, likewise 70 percent of certain European countries’ energy comes from this region”, he said, adding that every day the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil travelled through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf are … the corner stone of [Iran’s] defence. The Strait of Hormuz counts as a point of economic control and pressure in the transfer of energy for aggressive powers from beyond the continent that want to endanger the security of the region”, General Safavi said.
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Iran's Ali Daei gives Saba Battery semis berth

Persepolis and the visiting Abu Moslem struggled to a 2-2 draw in the 27th week of the fifth Iran Pro League while national skipper Ali Daei struck two to hand Saba Battery a place in the League Cup semifinals, MNA reported.
Against the run of play, Abu Moslem took the lead in the 33rd minute through Mohammadreza Khalatbari, who spectacularly cleared four, including the keeper Farshid Karimi before finding the net from close range.
The red-clad home side was stunned seven minutes later when striker Mehdi Kheiri, who received a superb pass from captain Hossein Badamaki, slid the ball under the diving Karimi.
Persepolis, however, pulled one back just before halftime. Referee Fereydun Esfahanian awarded a penalty for Majid Nurmohammadi handball and a cool-headed Ali Ansarian converted the spot-kick.
Some 10,000 fans in Azadi Stadium gave Javad Kazemian a standing ovation as the forward duped his marker Aziz Farisat in the area to rifle home 10 minutes into second half.
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