India Test Fired Nuclear Capable ICBM Agni-5

India has successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile able to carry a nuclear warhead, officials say.

Agni-5 test launch [screen shot from BBC video]

The Agni-V missile was launched from It was launched from Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa at 0805 local time (0235GMT) on Thursday and took 20 minutes to hit its target somewhere near Indonesia in the Indian Ocean.

Rahul Bedi, Defence analyst says:

With the launch of locally-developed Agni-V, India has joined a small group of countries - up to now only the nuclear-armed powers - with inter-continental range ballistic missiles.

A successful test flight of the missile will strengthen India's nuclear deterrence once it comes into service by 2014-15.

With a range of 5,000km (3,100 miles), the Agni-V is capable of delivering a single 1.5-ton warhead deep inside nuclear rival China's territory.

Read more / watch video of missile launch: BBC News 

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India defers long-range missile test launch

 India on Wednesday postponed the test-launch of its first long-range missile capable of reaching deep into China and as far as Europe due to bad weather, a government official said.

The launch of the Agni V, which can carry nuclear warheads and has a range of 5,000 km (3,125 miles), will thrust the emerging Asian power into an elite club of nations with intercontinental nuclear defence capabilities.

"Due to heavy lightning in the area, the scheduled test flight of Agni V has been postponed til tomorrow for safety reasons," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told Reuters.

Read details: Reuters

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India to test-fire Agni-5 missile that puts all China within range

India plans to test-launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile soon that would put the whole of China within its range, the Press Trust of India news agency said Monday.

The launch could be carried out as early as Wednesday, PTI said, quoting scientists familiar with the missile project.

The test-launch involves an Agni-5 missile, a three-stage solid-fuel rocket with a range of 5,000 kilometers.

Currently, only the United States, China and Russia have capabilities to launch this class of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Read details: Mainichi

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Tehran not building nukes, admits US Intelligence official

Much to the surprise of the world, which is made to believe every other day by USA and Israel that Iran is very close to making a nuclear bomb, a US intelligence official has an amazing revelation, who asserts that Iran has the means to build a nuclear weapon but has not yet decided to follow through. The news is in contrast to Israel's insistence that time is running out to stop Iran from developing such a weapon.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said last week that Iran was proceeding towards nuclear weapons capability and time was "urgently running out".

Read more: NZ Herald

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Israeli investment firm warns of a costly Israeli strike on nuclear Iran

Full Story: Yahoo News 11 November 2011

Photo: israeliran.net

A leading Israeli investment firm says, "Any military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would exact an economic price too high for the world to accept, and as a result, it would likely acquiesce to a nuclear Iran," reports Yahoo News Thursday.

Amir Kahanovich, chief economist at Clal Finance, one of Israel's largest  brokerage houses, warned that a sharp rise in the price of oil, the costs of war and the damage to global trade would be too great and deter world powers from taking any serious action.

Read full story for details.

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Iran firm on Nuclear Programme

Full story: BBC Middle East 9 November 2011 

Photo: Tehran Times

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in state TV speech has said that his country would not budge "one iota" from its nuclear programme, despite new allegations of it developing nuclear weapons."The new report by the UN's nuclear watchdog was based on "empty claims" provided by the US," he added.

The statement come after a series of allegation by US and its allies for Iran developing nuclear weapons, which they fear could threaten Israel.

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