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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday that Iran has successfully test-fired a new advanced missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel and southeastern Europe as well as U.S. bases in the Gulf.

U.S. sources later confirmed the test, adding that the administration was looking into its range as well as other data.

The solid-fuel Sajil-2 surface-to-surface missile is a new version of the Sajjil missile, which Iran said it had successfully tested late last year with a similar range.

“The Sajil 2 missile, which has an advanced technology, was launched today … and it landed exactly on the target,” Ahmadinejad said during a visit to the northern Semnan province, where Iran’s official news agency IRNA said the launch took place.

The announcement comes just two days after U.S. President Barack Obama declared a readiness to seek deeper international sanctions against Iran if it shunned U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. He said he expected a positive response to his diplomatic outreach by the end of the year.

Iran’s announcement is likely to arouse further concern in the West about Iran’s military ambitions. The U.S. and its allies suspect the Islamic Republic is seeking to build nuclear bombs. Tehran denies the charge.

Iran said in November it test fired a Sajil missile, describing it as a new generation of surface-to-surface missile. Tehran said it was ready to defend itself against any attacker.

Washington said at the time that the test highlighted the need for a missile defense system it plans to base in Poland and the Czech Republic to counter threats from what it calls “rogue states”.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1086879.html

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) – The British government has rebuked broadcaster Channel 4 for airing a Christmas message from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose previous dismissal of the Holocaust and refusal to abandon the pursuit of a nuclear capability have caused international dismay.

Channel 4 invited Ahmadinejad to deliver its annual “alternative Christmas message,” which was broadcast on Christmas Day. In a break with tradition, however, the network did not schedule his address at the same time as the queen delivered her own annual Christmas message.

A spokesman for the British foreign office said the invitation would likely cause “offense and bemusement” and that the broadcast’s negative impact would be felt on an international scale.

“President Ahmadinejad has during his time in office made a series of appalling anti-Semitic statements,” a spokeswoman said.

“The British media are rightly free to make their own editorial choices, but this invitation will cause offense and bemusement not just at home but amongst friendly countries abroad.”

Ahmadinejad used the platform to call on Britons to direct themselves to the messages of the prophets, and he blamed the complex problems the world is facing on “the indifference of some governments and powers toward the teachings of the divine prophets, especially those of Jesus Christ.”

In what some have read as an attack on the U.S., he added: “If Christ were on Earth today, undoubtedly he would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime.”

Channel 4 head of news Dorothy Byrne defended the broadcast, saying the Iranian premier’s views were important.

“As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad’s views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view.”

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/iran-general-/ahmadinejad-christmas-speech-annoys-u.k.-government-16926.html

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s parliament impeached a Cabinet minister on Tuesday after he admitted having a fake degree from Oxford University, in a vote widely seen as a defeat for hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The dismissal of Interior Minister Ali Kordan was the first high-profile confrontation between the new parliament and Ahmadinejad. It was seen a vote of no-confidence in the president and a sign that the leader’s popularity is tumbling, even with his conservative allies.

The interior minister in Iran is a powerful position in charge of holding elections and local administrations throughout the country.

During Kordan’s confirmation debate, numerous lawmakers argued he was unqualified, some claiming that his Oxford degree was a fake. Kordan was approved Aug. 5 by a relatively slim margin of around 160 of the 269 lawmakers present, a reflection of the concerns.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081104/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_fake_degree;_ylt=Asxbi69Zm8S85_5WpJ.uAQFvaA8F