WASHINGTON — U.S. military intelligence has determined that a video released by the Iranian government purporting to show a test of a new submarine missile is bogus, three Pentagon officials confirmed.
The Iranians released the video Aug. 27, one of a series of steps the Tehran government has taken in recent months to display its military potency in the midst of a confrontation with the United States and other Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.
The test apparently was designed to intimidate Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which are U.S. allies and important oil-producing countries, regional experts said. The video showed what appeared to be a successful test of a submarine-fired missile that flies above the water's surface to attack ships.
But U.S. intelligence officers analyzed the plume of smoke from the missile and determined it matched a video of an earlier Chinese test.
"It's the identical launch," a Pentagon official said. "The plume, everything, is the same."
U.S. officials have been unable to confirm whether any test took place during the Iranian exercise. They say they are certain, however, that the video of the purported test is not of an Iranian sub in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely tracking developments in Iran in an attempt to monitor Tehran's efforts to build up its nuclear capabilities as well as its conventional military capacity. The surveillance efforts are part of what experts see as a strategic contest of increasing complexity, with the two nations working to decipher each other's motivations and intentions.
The purported missile test was announced by Iran's official news agency a day before the video was released and just before an Aug. 31 deadline set by the United Nations for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment.
The Bush administration is pushing for U.N. sanctions against the country unless it stops enriching uranium. Although Iran, an oil-rich country, says it is solely pursuing civilian power, the U.S. and other countries believe Tehran is intent on building nuclear weapons.
The test video was broadcast on Iranian state television and picked up around the world, including by CNN and Fox News.
What has American military officers scratching their heads is why the Iranians would see the need to release a phony video.
