UAE reports new record daily COVID-19 cases with 3,407 infections

UAE reports new record daily COVID-19 cases with 3,407 infections

Iran's Revolutionary Guard holds ballistic missile drill amid tensions



The Guard's aerospace division launched several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles against simulated enemy bases

Tensions are again rising in the waning days of the administration of President Donald Trump

Updated 15 January 2021

AP

January 15, 2021 09:43

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces on Friday held a military exercise involving ballistic missiles and drones in the country's central desert, state TV reported, amid heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear program and a US pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

In the first phase of the drill Friday morning, the Guard's aerospace division launched several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles against simulated enemy bases, state TV reported. It said the drill included Zolfaghar and Dezful solid-fuel ballistic missiles. Bomb-carrying drones were also deployed. The Dezful, a version of the Zolfaghar, has a 700-kilometer (430-mile) range and 450-kilogram (992-pound) warhead.

Iran has missile capability of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), far enough to reach archenemy Israel and US military bases in the region. Last January, after the US killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, Tehran retaliated by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops, resulting in brain concussion injuries to dozens of