On 9 July 2008 the official Islamic Republic News Agency in Tehran reported that Iran had test fired a Shahab-3 missile during three days of naval wargames in the Persian Gulf to exercise the combat readiness of the country's armed forces. The launch of the missile, with a range of up to 1,500 km, followed warnings from Tehran that it would retaliate against any strike on its nuclear facilities by Israel or the United States. This incident underscored the importance of ballistic missile defence (BMD) in countering the threat from states that are actively seeking a ballistic missile capability. The US is committed to developing a layered defence against missiles of all ranges and in all phases of flight (boost, mid-course and terminal), utilising interceptors, sensors and com-mand-and-control (C2) systems on land, in the air and at sea.
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