Iran tests anti-ship ballistic missile

Iran has released imagery of a second test of its Khalij Fars (Persian Gulf) anti-ship ballistic missile that confirms the missile uses an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) seeker, but there are still doubts that it is ready to be deployed.

The Khalij Fars was first unveiled in February 2011, when the Iranian media released imagery of a weapon that was clearly based on the Fateh-110 tactical ballistic missile. Officials claimed it was being mass produced and has a range of 300 km.

Iran also released at that time imagery purportedly showing the missile hitting a stationary ship, but the authenticity of the imagery was questioned: Uzi Rubin, the former head of Israel's Missile Defence Organisation, said it had been doctored.

The test was purportedly carried out in early July and involved a Khalij Fars hitting a moving floating platform. Iranian media organisations released imagery supposedly taken by the missile's EO/IR seeker as it homed in on the platform – and still images of the missile hitting the target.

However, Rubin remains sceptical, noting that the missile that was supposedly fired appeared to lack an optical window. "The evidence they released is not convincing," he told IHS Jane's .