Recent Israeli missile test could be drill for strike on Iran, or warning to leaders in Tehran

Russian news channel claims test could be related to increasing tensions with Hezbollah

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The Israeli Ministry of Defense on Monday said it carried out the test of a rocket engine from a military base in central Israel.

Aside from noting that the propulsion test went “as planned,” the defense ministry gave no other information about the event.

Based on local reports, the missile was most likely launched from the Palmachim Base, south of Tel Aviv. The base has been used previously to test missile launches.

At the time, there were unconfirmed reports indicating the missile launch may have been a significant test of a long-range Jericho rocket.

Israel also just test-launched something deep into the Med, its telemetry plane tracking it from near Malta. launch pix below pic.twitter.com/zRnURxpMDL
— avi scharf (@avischarf) June 24, 2024

A Russian website claimed that the missile test, which fell about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) west of Israel, was a test of the missile’s range in case of an attack on Iran. The distance the missile traveled is greater than the distance from Tel Aviv to Tehran.

Israel has been testing the Jericho family of ballistic missiles for several decades, going back to the first iteration, called Jericho 1, which was a solid-fuel ballistic missile that finished development during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

That model, which had around a 500-km (310-mile) range, was replaced in the 1990s by the Jericho 2, which has a longer range of between 1,500-3,500 km (between 930-2,200 miles).

In 2008, the third version, the Jericho 3 was tested, and it reportedly has a range between 4,800 to 6,500 km (3,00-4,000 miles). While the Israeli Defense Ministry has never confirmed, military analysts believe the Jericho 3 can be fitted with nuclear payloads.

The Jericho 3 apparently replaced the Jericho 2 in 2011, and additional tests conducted in 2013 and 2019, were reportedly successful.

The Russian news channel, which is affiliated with the Putin regime, reported: “Against the backdrop of escalation with Lebanon and statements by the Iranian side about the possible entry into the conflict, such a test looks very symbolic.”