Iran Test-Fires Sub-Launched Missile

Iran reported today that they've successfully tested a "long-range" missile from a submarine. The report came from a televised announcement that also apparently included a video of a missile exiting the water and hitting a target about half a mile away. I haven't been able to find the video yet, but I'm not sure that they were claiming that the video was of the most recent launch -- if so, it seems the Iranians might have a different definition of "long range" than most others.

The Iranians also claim that the missile can be fired from other surface ships. If so, it sounds like it might be their version of the Harpoon missile; they're apparently calling it the "Thaqeb", or "Jupiter" missile.

Getting a torpedo-tube launched missile to actually work is a fairly significant achievement; if the missile is the equivalent of a Harpoon, it would mean the Iranians are only 30 years behind the West in sub-launched anti-surface missile hardware, as opposed to the more than 60 years that they're behind us in uranium enrichment technology.

Staying at PD...

Update 0025 29 August: It looks now like they're translating "Thaqeb" as "Saturn".

Update 0659 30 August: Strategy Page thinks it might have been Russian-designed Klub-S missile. That kind of makes sense.