Iran says it has successfully tested two of its longest-range missiles
that defense analysts say could be capable of hitting Israel and
southern Europe.
State television broadcast images Monday of a Shahab 3 missile blasting off from desert terrain in a cloud of dust. The surface-to-surface missile is believed to have a range of some 2,000 kilometers.
Representatives from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union reacted to the launches with concern. The White House called them "provocative" and urged Iranian authorities to allow inspectors "unfettered access" to a recently disclosed nuclear fuel plant.
Russia's foreign minister (Sergei Lavrov) called the tests "worrisome." Russian news agencies reported he urged Iran to be as cooperative as possible with U.N. nuclear inspectors.
The United States and other world powers will push Iran to fully disclose its nuclear activities at a meeting in Geneva Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that Washington will seek tougher sanctions against Iran if the talks fail.
REST OPTIONAL
The meeting follows the disclosure last week that Tehran is building a new plant to enrich uranium. That development disregards U.N. demands that Iran stop processing material that can be used in nuclear bombs.
Iran argues that it has a right to nuclear energy, a point of agreement with Western powers.
But the West and the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency want greater access to Iran's nuclear facilities to ensure the country is not secretly working toward a nuclear weapon.
Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, has said inspectors will be allowed to visit the new uranium enrichment plant.
Meanwhile, students at Tehran University have protested against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the first day of classes. Footage posted on Web sites showed several hundred people chanting slogans against the president.
Witnesses said the protests were peaceful and a large number of security personnel were in the area.