RT - As the world is abuzz with speculation over Israel�s shadowy �rocket propulsion system� test, Tehran bluntly claimed that the projectile it fired from a base south of Tel Aviv was actually a nuclear-capable missile aimed at Iran.


�Israel today tested a nuke-missile, aimed at Iran,� Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested in a tweet posted on Friday evening. He lamented that the West never complains �about the only nuclear arsenal in West Asia,� but �has fits of apoplexy over our conventional defensive [rockets].�

The mysterious missile in question was launched earlier in the day, with Israel�s military remaining conspicuously tight-lipped about it.

�The defense establishment conducted a test of a rocket propulsion system, from a base in central Israel,� read a carefully worded tweet that caused much speculation among informed pundits and the media.


A few minutes ago, the defense establishment conducted a test of a rocket propulsion system, from a base in central Israel. The test was pre-determined and took place according to plan.



� Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) December 6, 2019

Further muddying the water, the Defense Ministry didn�t even disclose the location of the �pre-determined� test, but videos and photos that popped up on social media showed a single, long trail of smoke rising from the Palmachim airbase situated south of Tel Aviv.

The military installation is believed to have a launch pad for Israel�s secretive Jericho ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 2,000km. Developed with American assistance, the little-known weapon can be equipped with a sizeable warhead, according to some media reports.


#UPDATE: @haaretzcom editor @avischarf reports the missile was launched from Palmachim Air Base, which is located along the Mediterranean Coast just south of Tel Aviv in central Israel.The airbase is labelled as having a launch pad for tests. This is likely the launch point. pic.twitter.com/Lw07aMKMVB



� ELINT News (@ELINTNews) December 6, 2019

As the plot thickened, Avi Scharf, the editor of the English version of Haaretz newspaper, reported that the Air Force dispatched a telemetry plane, a Hercules cargo aircraft and at least two specially configured Gulfstream G550 aerial surveillance jets �to track and handle it all.� The planes �flew all the way out past Crete,� he wrote.


To track and handle it all, IAI telemetry plane + at least two Israeli AF g550 aewc/shavit spyplanes + hercs flew all the way out past Crete pic.twitter.com/s9VyBQLVKJ



� avi scharf (@avischarf) December 6, 2019

Zarif�s intervention came on the back of a letter that three European nations � the UK, France and Germany � sent to the UN secretary general. The appeal claimed that social media footage captured this year showed that Iran�s new Shehab-3 ballistic missile is capable of carrying a nuclear payload � which could violate a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tehran rubbished the �unreliable� social media sources, saying it is nevertheless �determined to resolutely continue its activities related to ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles.�