Iran’s boasts about its new missile technology may not stand up to close study but analysts say the message is simple: Iranian forces, if pushed, can cause havoc in one of the world’s key oil shipping routes.

Iran says it has test fired a radar-evading missile and a high-speed underwater projectile during a week of naval war games in the Gulf, the route for about two-fifths of the world’s globally traded oil. Yesterday, it tested a torpedo.

The Pentagon said yesterday it is possible Iran has produced missiles capable of evading radar and sonar as Tehran has stated in recent days, but added that the Iranians have been known to “boast and exaggerate”.

Tehran says the manoeuvres are a show of defensive strength. Claims of technological prowess are a regular feature of war games in Iran, which considers itself a regional power.

But the timing of the announcements, amid a stand-off over Iran’s nuclear programme, has raised eyebrows in the West, which accuses Tehran of seeking an atomic bomb, a charge Iran denies.

Although the United States has said it wants a diplomatic solution to the stand-off, it has left the military option open.

“This is a message for Washington DC that the most harmful military steps that we can have in a potential confrontation is making trouble in the Strait of Hormuz, making trouble for oil ships in the Persian Gulf,” said political analyst Saeed Laylaz.

He said Iran may also have an eye on talks planned between Tehran and Washington over Iraq. By showing off its military power, the Iranian government may believe it is strengthening its hand in the talks. “This is another card,” Laylaz said.

But such bragging may also be a further sign Iran is digging itself in for the long haul in the nuclear dispute.

The United Nations, pressed on by Western states, has demanded Iran stop enriching uranium, a process Tehran says it needs to make fuel for power stations although the process also has military applications.

Iran has rejected the demand as a violation of its rights, while the West has also shown no signs of compromise. With neither side budging, Iran may feel a military confrontation is more likely even if it still remains far off, some analysts say.

“Probably, they anticipate that down the line there will be a point that confrontation will be inevitable. Therefore, they are just indicating that in case they come under any military pressure or any threat then they can properly defend themselves,” said Iranian political analyst Mahmoud Alinejad.

But he said it was a risky strategy because it may serve to bolster those calling for a tougher line by the West against Iran and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who caused alarm in the West by openly calling for Israel’s destruction.

“This sort of military propaganda will definitely give them (those seeking tougher action) more ammunition to level more accusations against Iran that Iran is under a military minded government and leadership,” Alinejad said.

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Aliasghar Soltaniyeh, told CNN the missile testing should not worry the world because it was a display of “self defence”. But some Western governments have already voiced suspicions.

“We know that the Iranians are always trying to improve their weapons systems by both foreign and indigenous measures. It’s possible that they are increasing their capability and making strides in radar-absorbing materials and targeting,” said Bryan Whitman, a senior Pentagon spokesman.

“However, the Iranians have been known also to boast and exaggerate their statements about great technical and tactical capabilities,” Whitman added. Questions still remain about the performance claimed by Iran for its missiles, including another missile tested on Sunday which a naval commander said travelled underwater at four times faster than other such weapons.

Iran rarely provides enough detail for military analysts to fully assess its new weapons. And while Iran boasts of home-grown systems, analysts say most are modifications of weapons from other countries, including China and Russia, or missiles from North Korea. While Iran can draw on a large well of manpower, with a population of about 69 million, analysts say its naval and air force technology is largely outmoded. Nevertheless, Iran’s commanding position over the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf means it can still disrupt the world’s oil supplies, if threatened, and even if much of its technology is no match for US weaponry. — Reuters