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Iran Tests Two Ballistic Missiles, Harasses U.S. and UK Ships in Straits of Hormuz

Iran test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles over the weekend, while its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed American and British ships in the Straits of Hormuz, Fox News reported Tuesday.

The two Fateh-110 Mod 3 ballistic missiles used in the launches were outfitted with “active seeker” technology, allowing them to more accurately target sea-borne vessels, two anonymous U.S. officials said. The first missile, fired on Saturday, missed its mark but landed “in the vicinity” of its target, one official said. The second missile was fired a day later and successfully hit a floating barge located 155 miles away.

“It’s a concern based on the range and that one of the missiles worked,” one official told Fox.

The missile launches came days after Iran claimed that it successfully tested its new Russian S-300 air defense system.

A U.S. official told Reuters on Monday that multiple fast-attack Iranian boats harassed a U.S. navy ship, which was accompanied by three British Royal Navy vessels, in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The Iranian boats came within 600 yards of the USNS Invincible, then stopped, forcing the American and British ships to change direction.

The official said that efforts were made to contact the Iranian boats, but no response was received. The official described the incident as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

Iran’s latest missile launches were carried out shortly before North Korea test-fired four ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Monday. Pyongyang, which claimed that it was targeting American bases with its tests, has a scientific cooperation agreement with Tehran. The two countries boast an extensive history of cooperation on advanced military technologies, including ballistic missile development and nuclear weapons research.

Satellite photographs released in December show a ballistic missile silo in North Korea that is highly similar to a silo located in Tabriz, Iran. The North Korean silo is located in an area where nuclear weapons research is known to have been previously conducted.

Lt. Col. (ret.) Dr. Refael Ofek and Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies suggested in a paper last week that Iran is using its cooperation with North Korea to illicitly further its nuclear weapons development. Ofek and Shoham wrote that “this kind of strategic, military-technological collaboration is more than merely plausible. It is entirely possible, indeed likely, that such a collaboration is already underway.”

[Photo: Tasnim News ]