Iran Tests Fires Missiles, West Warns of Quick Response
As Western powers move closer to enforce its planned economic sanctions against Iran, Tehran gave the green light for its navy to conduct test firings of missiles on Monday, quickly earning condemnations from France and the United States.
France warned the Gulf nation that its latest actions were only sending unnecessary signals to the international community, stressing too that blockading the strait will be unacceptable.
America, on the other hand, has earlier warned that Iran closing the strait would automatically merit a military response from U.S. forces stationed near the Persian Gulf.
According to Agence France Presse (AFP), Iranian navy ships launched three missiles near the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the week and apparently displaying its resolve to follow through its earlier threats that commerce flow in the crucial waterway will be disrupted once the sanctions were implemented.
Reports coming from Iranian media outlets have suggested that the Iranian navy showcased missile capabilities that can reach intended targets from distances between 35 kilometres to 200 kilometres.
The U.S. government has been actively campaigning for more pressures to be applied on Iran to force its government to abandon nuclear arms programs, which Tehran has consistently characterised as solely intended for industrial use.
Washington has been rejecting Tehran's repeated excuses, with U.S. President Barack Obama working to stifle the financial capability of Iran to support its nuclear development program.
On Saturday, Obama affixed his signature on new U.S. laws that would restrict dealings of U.S.-based companies with Iran's central banks and other financial institutions.
In-placed economic sanctions limit Iran's channel of selling its oil products, with the regulated transactions being coursed through the country's central bank, AFP said.
Another round of sanctions on the institution will further limit Iran's finances and push the country's government to the wall, experts said, with the threats of closing down the Strait of Hormuz viewed by many as a sign of desperation.
Following Obama's signing of the new round of sanctions for Iran, the country's currency immediately dipped by 12 percent, AFP wrote.