Iran Fires Missile From Submarine

Iran test-fired a long-range missile from a submarine in the Gulf yesterday as part of an orchestrated show of defiance ahead of the United Nations security council's Thursday deadline to suspend part of its nuclear programme.

Iranian state television carried a video clip showing the missile being launched and hitting a target.

The show of military strength came less than 24 hours after the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, formally opened a heavy water plant that could be used in the production of nuclear weapons.

The missile launch underlines Iran's ability to create havoc in the Gulf by closing off the Straits of Hormuz to oil tankers, a move that would create serious shortages and send prices soaring.

An Iranian navy commander, Sajjad Kouchaki, quoted on the broadcast, described the missile as Iranian-built, "with a very high speed and destructive power. It is also radar-evading."

The UN has given Iran until Thursday to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which Tehran claims is for purely civilian purposes but which the US and others in the west view as a step towards achieving a nuclear weapons capability. If Iran fails to comply, the US favours imposing sanctions but Russia and China, which both have a veto on the security council, have shown little enthusiasm for such a move.

Tehran disclosed yesterday that the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, is to go to Iran on Saturday for a two-day visit to see if there is a way out of the crisis.

Iran on Tuesday set out its counter-proposals to the security council in a 23-page memorandum but there has been no official response yet from the US or Europe. The crisis seems likely to escalate as Iran is refusing to suspend uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks.

Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, said yesterday that any punitive measures by the west would not deflect Iran from its pursuit of nuclear power.

"Production of nuclear fuel is our strategic aim," he told state radio. "Any measure to deprive Iran of its right will not change our mind about our aim."

Mohammad Reza Baqheri, the deputy foreign minister, adopted a harder line on the issue, saying that Iran would never halt uranium enrichment. "It is our red line. We will never do it," he told the official IRNA news agency.