• North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, days after it launched two other missiles intended to pressure South Korea and the US to stop upcoming military drills.
• North Korea test-fired two new short-range ballistic missiles on July 25, its first missile tests since leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump agreed to revive stalled denuclearization talks.
• The latest launches were from the Hodo peninsula on North Korea's east coast, the same area from where last week's were conducted.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, only days after it launched two other missiles intended to pressure South Korea and the United States to stop upcoming military drills.

The latest launches were from the Hodo peninsula on North Korea's east coast, the same area from where last week's were conducted, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. It said it was monitoring in case of additional launches.

The JCS in Seoul said later the North had fired ballistic missiles that flew about 250 km (155 miles). South Korean news agency Yonhap said they appeared to be a different type to previous launches.

Colonel Lee Peters, a spokesman for US military forces in South Korea, said: "We are aware of reports of a missile launch from North Korea and we will continue to monitor the situation."

He did not comment when asked whether the joint South Korea-US drills, scheduled to begin next month, would continue.

Japan's defense ministry said no missiles had reached Japanese territory or its exclusive economic zone, and the launches did not threaten Japan's immediate security.

North Korea test-fired two new short-range ballistic missiles on July 25, its first missile tests since leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump met on June 30 and agreed to revive stalled denuclearization talks.

The White House, the Pentagon and the US State Department did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both played down last week's launches and Pompeo has continued to express hope for a diplomatic way forward with North Korea.

Since Trump and Kim's June 30 meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, Pyongyang has accused Washington of breaking a promise by planning to hold joint military exercises with South Korea next month and warned that these could derail any talks.

North Korea has also warned of a possible end to its freeze on nuclear and long-range missile tests that has been in place since 2017, which Trump has repeatedly upheld as evidence of the success of his engagement with Kim.

A top South Korean official said last month the drills would go ahead as planned but would mainly involve computer simulations and not troops in the field.

Read more:North Korea says its latest missile test was a 'solemn warning' to South Korea against military drills with the US

Differences

A February summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim collapsed after the two sides failed to reconcile differences between Washington's demands for Pyongyang's complete denuclearization and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Trump reiterated to reporters at the White House earlier on Tuesday that he had a good relationship with Kim, but added: "We'll see what happens. I can't tell you what's going to happen."

Pompeo said on Monday he hoped working-level talks to revive denuclearization talks could occur "very soon."

On Tuesday, he told reporters traveling with him on a visit to Asia he did not know when this would happen but hoped US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and his new counterpart could meet "before too long".

Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho had been expected to meet on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian security forum in Bangkok this week but Ri canceled his trip, a diplomatic source said told Reuters last week.

Pompeo said on Tuesday he did not anticipate that the North Koreans would be in Bangkok but, if they were, he would look forward to a chance to meet Ri.

"We'll see if they are there and, if they are, I'm confident we will meet," he said.

A senior US administration official said earlier on Tuesday a North Korean official told a White House National Security Council (NSC) counterpart last week that working-level talks would start very soon.

The NSC official, who was in Asia for unrelated talks, traveled to the DMZ to deliver photographs commemorating the June 30 summit, the senior administration official told reporters.

Harry Kazianis, of Washington's Center for the National Interest think tank, said the latest launches were a clear attempt by North Korea to put pressure on Washington.

"For now, it seems any working-level talks between America and North Korea are on hold until the fall, as the Kim regime won't immediately spring back to diplomacy after this round of tests," he said.

Other analysts have said North Korea will have been emboldened to press more aggressively for US concessions by Trump's apparent eagerness to hold up his engagement with Pyongyang as a foreign policy success ahead of his 2020 reelection bid.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith in SEOUL, and Eric Beech and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Mohammad Zargham, Sonya Hepinstall and Paul Tait)

SEE ALSO: North Korea appears to ramp up efforts to develop its nuclear arsenal, according to recent reports from intelligence analysts

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• Taiwan massively boosted its defense spending after China warned in July it was ready for war if there was any move toward Taiwan's independence.
• The ministry said it will spend more to purchase advanced weapons from overseas and to build a fully volunteer force after decades of conscription.
• Taiwan is developing a missile system to defend against anti-radiation missiles, small drones, cruise missiles, and even helicopters and other aircraft.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Taiwan unveiled its largest defense spending increase in more than a decade on Thursday amid rising military tensions with its giant neighbor China, which considers the self-ruled island its own and has not renounced the use of force against it.

President Tsai Ing-wen's cabinet signed off on an 8.3% increase in military spending for the year starting January to T$411.3 billion ($13.11 billion), its largest yearly gain since 2008, according to Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

If approved by lawmakers, which is likely given the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's control of parliament, it will be the highest since records started in 2001, data from the statistics agency show.

China warned in July it was ready for war if there was any move toward Taiwan's independence and denounced arms sales from the United States to Taiwan, which is among a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship including a trade war and U.S. sanctions.

"To react to the enemy's threat and to ensure national security, the defense budget continues to grow stably," Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it will spend more to purchase advanced weapons from overseas and to build a fully volunteer force after decades of conscription.

China, which suspects Tsai of pushing for the island's formal independence, has been ramping up military pressure on Taiwan, which includes encirclement drills around it and flying jets across a maritime border separating the two sides, a move Taipei called "provocative."

The United States is the main arms supplier to Taiwan and approved in July sales of weapons estimated to be worth $2.2 billion to the democratic island. Washington has no formal ties with Taipei, but it is bound by law to help provide it with the means to defend itself.

Taiwan is developing weapons of its own, too. On Wednesday, The Drive reported that Taiwan was developing a land-based variant of its Sea Oryx naval missile defense system, which itself is still in development. The systems will be able to defend Taiwan against anti-radiation missiles, small drones, cruise missiles, and even helicopters and other aircraft. Taiwan already employs the Phalanx CIWS, but has limited options for defending against close-in threats.

Taiwan's National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is also developing a guided-missile destroyer and stealth catamarans. 

Tsai is facing a re-election battle in January amid criticism over her reform agenda as Beijing steps up efforts to squeeze Taiwan, including a tourism ban for Chinese visitors to the island.

(Reporting By Yimou Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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• Planet Labs Inc. and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies say that satellite imagery suggests an upcoming rocket launch in Iran.
• Photos show increased vehicle presence and a large shipping container at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan, Iran, which the groups say suggest the presence of an upcoming rocket launch.
• The spaceport has been used in attempted launches of satellites, but US officials told CNN the government sees the rocket launches as furthering Iran's weapons program because the rockets use the same technology as long-range ballistic missiles. 
• If it goes forward the launch would not go against the international Iran nuclear agreement.
• Read more stories like this on Business Insider.

Iran appears to be preparing another satellite launch via rocket after twice failing this year to put one in orbit, despite U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic's program helps it develop ballistic missiles.

Satellite images of the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Iran's Semnan province this month show increased activity at the site, as heightened tensions persist between Washington and Tehran over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

While Iran routinely only announces such launches after the fact, that activity coupled with an official saying a satellite would soon be handed over to the country's Defense Ministry suggests the attempt will be coming soon.

Read more: US Marines sailed through the Strait of Hormuz with an armored vehicle on the flattop's flight deck, ready to fight off Iranian gunboats

According to two US officials who spoke to CNN, the government believes the launch will further missile development for the country because it utilizes the same technology used in long-range ballistic missiles. The launch does not break the international Iran nuclear deal, however.

Analysis by Planet Labs Inc. and the Middlebury Institute says that increased activity around the launch site suggests upcoming activity. Specifically, the groups note additional vehicles and a large vehicle with a shipping container,  which the Middlebury Institute's Dave Schmerler tells CNN suggests that there is a rocket on the premises. 

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• The US's first test of a missile since withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has Russia and China on edge, as both rivals contend that the US is starting a new arms race that raises the possibility of armed conflict.
• On Sunday, the US tested its first ground-launched cruise missile since the INF Treaty collapsed earlier this month.
• Russia said the US had "set the course for fomenting military tensions," and China expressed concerns that the US would "trigger a new round of arms race."
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The US's first test of a missile since withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has Russia and China rattled, with each nuclear-armed rival warning that the US is igniting a great-power arms race.

As Russia said the US had "set the course for fomenting military tensions,"China expressed concerns that American actions would "trigger a new round of arms race," making conflict more likely.

Arms-control experts have said that a "new missile race" is underway, arguing that strategic rivals are likely to match US weapons developments "missile for missile."

The US military on Sunday conducted its first flight test of a conventional ground-launched cruise missile that would have been banned under the INF Treaty a little over two weeks ago.

Read more:The US fired off a previously banned missile, the first since the collapse of a Cold War-era nuclear-arms pact with Russia

The 1987 treaty was a Cold War-era agreement between Washington and Moscow that put restrictions on missile development, prohibiting either side from developing or fielding intermediate-range ground-launched missiles, systems with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. China — never a party to this pact — has been developing missiles in this range for decades.

Accusing Russia of violating the agreement through its work on the Novator 9M729, a missile that NATO refers to as SSC-8, the US said earlier this year that it would "move forward with developing our own military response," a position supported by NATO.

When the US formally withdrew from the treaty at the start of August, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper explained that the Department of Defense would "fully pursue the development of these ground-launched conventional missiles."

Sixteen days later, the US tested its first post-INF missile — alarming not only Moscow but Beijing.

"We will not allow ourselves to get drawn into a costly arms race," Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told Russian state media, according to The Guardian.

Urging the US to let go of a Cold War mentality, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geng Shuang, said that the US test and future tests would ultimately "lead to escalated military confrontation" that would harm "international and regional security."

Russia, which insists it did not violate the INF Treaty, has repeatedly warned the US against deploying intermediate-range missiles in Europe.

The weapon tested Sunday, as The War Zone explains, was a ground-launched BGM-109 Tomahawk, a variant of the BGM-109G Gryphon, a US missile system that together with the Pershing II mid-range ballistic missile comprised the forward-deployed tactical nuclear forces in Europe before the INF Treaty was signed and all relevant weapon systems were destroyed.

In an apparent response to Moscow, the US said it had no plans to put post-INF Treaty missiles in Europe. Beijing may actually have more reason to worry.

The Pentagon — and specifically the new secretary of defense — has expressed an interest in positioning new intermediate-range missiles in the Pacific to counter regional threats like China.

Esper told reporters recently that at least 80% of China's inventory "is intermediate-range systems," adding that it shouldn't surprise China "that we would want to have a like capability."

China did not respond positively to the news, saying it wouldn't let the US put missiles on its "doorstep."

The US has not announced where any of these missiles would be deployed.

Read more:China warns it will not 'sit idly by' while the US moves to put new strike missiles on its 'doorstep'

While some observers see the US wading into a major arms race as it focuses more on great-power competition, others see this as a reasonable strategic evolution in US military capabilities.

"We want China's leadership to wake up every morning and think 'This is not a good day to pick a fight with the United States or its allies,'" Tom Karako, a missile-defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Insider.

Over the years, China has developed increasingly capable missiles designed to target US bases across the Pacific and sink US carriers at sea, while the US has expressed an interest in deploying new capabilities to tilt the scales back the other way.

SEE ALSO: The US Army wants a powerful cannon that can hit Chinese warships in the South China Sea from 1,000 miles away

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• Russia's state weather agency said on Monday that a cloud of inert radioactive gases that swept across a Russian town earlier this month was produced by fast-decaying radioactive isotopes released by an explosion at the Nyonoksa testing range.
• Though Russia's explanations for what occurred have varied, the blast has been tied to a failed missile test.
• A Norwegian nuclear expert told The Barents Observer that these isotopes — of strontium, barium, and lanthanum — were caused by a "nuclear chain reaction," saying it was evidence that it "was a nuclear reactor that exploded."
• US experts and intelligence officials suspect that the failed weapons test involved the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a superweapon that NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A mysterious explosion at a Russian weapons testing site earlier this month released various radioactive isotopes, creating a cloud of radioactive gases that swept across a nearby town, the country's state weather agency said Monday, and experts said the mixture removes all doubt about what blew up.

The deadly August 8 blast at the Nyonoksa military weapons testing range released a handful of rapidly decaying radioactive isotopes — strontium-91, barium-139, barium-140, and lanthanum-140 — which have half-lives ranging from 83 minutes to 12.8 days, the Roshydromet national weather and environmental monitoring agency said in a statement on test samples.

"These are fission products," Joshua Pollack, a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation, told Insider. "If anyone still doubts that a nuclear reactor was involved in this incident, this report should go a long way toward resolving that."

Alexander Uvarov, the editor of the independent news site AtomInfo.ru, told the news agency RIA Novosti that these isotopes were products of nuclear fission involving uranium, Agence France-Presse reported Monday. This collection of radioisotopes could be released by a reaction involving uranium-235.

Nils Bohmer, a Norwegian nuclear-safety expert, told The Barents Observer that "the presence of decay products like barium and strontium is coming from a nuclear chain reaction," adding that it was evidence that it "was a nuclear reactor that exploded."

Edwin Lyman, an expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Guardian that the fission products detected pointed to a reactor release. "It certainly does appear now that with reports of the detection of some radioactive fission products (Sr-91, Ba-139, Ba-140) the Nyonoksa explosion involved a critical nuclear reactor," Lyman wrote on Twitter, adding, "More information is needed before conclusions about the type of reactor can be reached."

Russia has been cagey with the details of the accident, which killed at least five and as many as seven people and triggered a brief radiation spike in nearby Severodvinsk, a detail Russia has flip-flopped on acknowledging. Russia says the radiation situation, which was within acceptable levels, has stabilized.

Read more: Here's why the Russian military has so many serious accidents

In the aftermath of the explosion, Russia's explanation of the accident and its risks varied, several nuclear monitoring stations in Russia mysteriously went offline, doctors treating the wounded said that they were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements and that hospital records were destroyed, and one doctor was found to have a radioactive isotope in his muscle tissue. Russia has insisted that the cesium-137 detected was the result of something the doctor ate.

Read more:It looks like the Russians are trying to hide the truth about that nuclear accident in Nyonoksa

Russian authorities claimed that the incident happened "during tests of a liquid propulsion system involving isotopes," (Russian state media initially said a rocket engine exploded), but Bohmer reportedly explained that short-lived radioactive isotopes would not have been produced by that sort of test.

Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear agency, said Russia was working on new weapons when the explosion occurred, but it did not offer any details, simply saying that tragedy sometimes "happens when testing new technologies."

A Kremlin spokesperson revealed last week that Russia was testing a "nuclear-propelled missile," The Washington Post reported at the time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that Russia was not hiding the details of the accident. He then said that "this is work in the military field, work on promising weapons systems," adding that "when it comes to activities of a military nature, there are certain restrictions on access to information."

US experts and intelligence officials suspect that Russia tested the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, a superweapon that NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall. In a tweet about the incident, President Donald Trump called it the "Skyfall explosion."

Read more:The blast that killed 5 Russian engineers was apparently caused by another failed test of Putin's doomsday missile

Andrei Zolotkov, a chemist who spent more than three decades working on Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet, told the Guardian that the nuclear reactor involved in the recent failed test appeared to be an unusual reactor, which would make sense if Russia was, as is suspected, working with a compact reactor for a new nuclear-powered missile.

Putin has boasted that the Burevestnik will be "invincible," with "an unlimited range, unpredictable trajectory and ability to bypass interception." But right now, it doesn't actually work and might be a greater threat to the people of Russia than it is to any adversary.

SEE ALSO: It looks like the Russians are trying to hide the truth about that nuclear accident in Nyonoksa

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• At a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki presented what he alleged is wreckage from Iranian drones and missiles from an attack Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil facilities on Saturday.
• Al-Malki said that the weapons used in Saturday's attacks are Iranian Ya Ali missiles and Delta Wing drones. But there is a possibility that it is another weapon entirely, researcher Fabian Hinz writes in Arms Control Wonk.
• Hinz's examination of the wreckage indicated that it was a Quds 1 missile. This missile hasn't been seen in Iran, but it's possible that Iran is producing them — or their components — there. They could be supplied to proxies or fired by Iranian forces.
• Iran has continued to deny responsibility for the attack. 
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. 

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki presented evidence from a Saudi investigation into attacks on its state-owned oil facilities on Saturday, telling reporters that the wreckage of drones and missiles is "undeniable" evidence that Iran supported the attack, Al-Jazeera reports.

"The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran," al-Malki said. "The evidence ... that you have seen in front of you makes this undeniable."

"The Iranian regime and the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], they are trying to hide any evidence" of involvement, he said. "We do have a lot of evidence against the IRGC and we will provide it to the United Nations and through the right channel according to the international law."

However, al-Malki stopped short of saying that Iran was directly responsible for the attacks that brought the Saudi  oil industry to its knees this week.

• Read more: Trump says a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone that flew dangerously close

SEE ALSO: A US strike on Iran would be disastrous for the region — and likely for the US

SEE ALSO: Iranian forces seized 2 British tankers on Friday in an escalation against the US and UK

Al-Malki showed remnants from 25 drones and missiles he said were used in the attack on Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer. He said authorities were still trying to determine the exact launch point, but affirmed that the weapons came from north of the targets.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Houthis are a Shia rebel group backed by Iran, which helped overthrow the Yemeni government in 2015.  They have been fighting against Saudi-backed forces in Yemen for the past four years, causing the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. The US has supported Saudi's campaign with intelligence and logistics, including US-made bombs.

Al-Malki stopped short of saying that the missiles were launched by the Iranian government, but says that the evidence affirms Iran's involvement.

Al-Malki said that 18 drones and seven missiles were launched against Saudi Aramco's Khurais oil field and Abqaiq oil processing plant, the largest in the world.

Al Malki told reporters that 18 drones and seven missiles targeted the facilities. Three of the missiles, those headed for Abqaiq, he said, failed to reach their destination.

Both the US and Saudi Arabia have said that the weapons were not launched from Yemen, whose border is about 500 miles from the attack site. Al-Malki said on Wednesday that their range was approximately 435 miles, and played a video of what he alleged was a drone approaching from the direction of Iran, TIME reports. 

Shortly after the attack, photos purporting to show wreckage of the missiles in the Saudi Arabian desert began circulating on social media. 

Social media users alleged that the photos, as Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, writes on Arms Control Wonk appeared to be of an Iranian Soumar cruise missile, which is modeled after a Soviet-era KH-55 cruise missile. But Hinz's examination of the wreckage indicated that it was actually a Quds 1, a missile the Houthis claim to have developed. 

The Houthis claim to have developed the Quds 1 missile themselves, Hinz writes. but there's not a high likelihood of that, given the grinding poverty and lack of infrastructure in Yemen.

In Wednesday's news conference, al Malki said that the missiles were Ya Ali missiles — the same type of weapon that Saudi Arabia said was used in the attacks on Abha airport in June. 

But as Hinz noted on Twitter, the wreckage al-Malki presented actually matches the components of a Quds 1, including the type of engine used — a Czech-designed TJ100.

However, Hinz notes, Iran appears to be manufacturing replicas of the TJ-100, too, for use in its drone program. Iran could potentially be furnishing a component, or an entire missile, for use by its Houthi proxies — or the appearance of such a use, Hinz claims.

If indeed the missile components shown Wednesday are from a Quds 1, that doesn't mean the Houthi forces are behind the attack.

It could simply mean that Iran is manufacturing weapons components for its proxies. While Hinz notes that the Quds 1 hasn't been seen within Iran, other weapons seen in Yemen are composed of parts suspiciously similar to ones from Iran, pointing out specifically the Badr-1P precision-guided missile and the Badr-F precision-guided missile. 

The Houthis are still claiming responsibility for the attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities, but as NPR points out, their claims don't actually match the numbers. Saria said that the Houthis launched 10 drones in the Aramco strike, but satellite images show 17 points of impact at the facilities. 

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said that they used Samad 3 and Qassef 3 drones, some equipped with bombs, to carry out the strike, and that they planned to strike the United Arab Emirates, a partner in the Saudi coalition fighting the Houthis which has greatly stepped back its involvement in the campaign. 

Iran still denies involvement in the strikes on Saudi Arabia.

The United States has been forceful in its assessment that Iran is behind the attacks, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling the incident "an act of war" on Wednesday. 

It's unclear how the US, which has been edging ever closer to direct conflict with Iran all summer, will respond to an attack on its ally Saudi Arabia. President Donald Trump seeks to increase sanctions on Iran, Bloomberg reports, but whether there will be a military response is unclear. 

Shortly after the incident on Saturday,  Trump tweeted that the US was "locked and loaded,"seemingly threatening attack. Just a day later, he told reporters, "Do I want war? I don't want war with anybody." 

• The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords fired the Naval Strike Missile during an exercise near Guam on Tuesday — the first time the missile had been fired in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The drill, part of the Pacific Griffin exercise, sank the decommissioned frigate USS Ford.
• The NSM is precision-guided, with a large warhead built to destroy targets, according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
• "You can hit most areas in the South China Sea if you're in the middle" of that sea, Clark said.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords launched a Naval Strike Missile on Tuesday, marking the first time the NSM has been fired in the Indo-Pacific region, the Navy told Insider.

The NSM, along with additional firepower from US and Singaporean forces, sank the decommissioned frigate USS Ford as part of an exercise with Singapore's navy in the Philippine Sea on Tuesday.

The Gabrielle Giffords, along with US Navy helicopters, ships, and submarines, and Singaporean navy ships, conducted the exercise as part of Pacific Griffin, a biennial exercise in the Pacific near Guam.

Read more: The US Navy deployed its new ship-killer missile to China's backyard

"LCS packs a punch and gives potential adversaries another reason to stay awake at night," Rear Adm. Joey Tynch said in a statement. "We are stronger when we sail together with our friends and partners, and LCS is an important addition to the lineup."

The NSM, made by Raytheon, is a stealthy long-range missile capable of hitting targets up to 100 nautical miles away. It flies at low altitudes and can rise and fall to follow the terrain, and it can evade missile-defense systems.

Read on to learn more about the Pacific Griffin exercise and the sinking of the USS Ford.

SEE ALSO: China just unveiled an underwater drone that could one day even the odds against the US and its top allies

This is the first time an NSM has been deployed to the 7th Fleet area of responsibility, and the Gabrielle Giffords is the first littoral combat ship to deploy with an NSM on board.

Eventually, the entire littoral-combat-ship (LCS) fleet will have NSMs aboard, CNN reported. The LCS fleet and NSMs will allow the US Navy to engage with China in the South China Sea.

With the NSM, "You can hit most areas in the South China Sea if you're in the middle" of the sea, Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told Insider.

Compared with China's DF-21 "carrier-killer" missile, the NSM has a shorter range but better precision targeting, enabling it to destroy an enemy vessel rather than just damage it, as the DF-21 is built to do, Clark said.

An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter fired Hellfire missiles at the USS Ford.

The Hellfire missile is a precision-strike weapon and can be fired from airborne systems, like the MH-60S Seahawks used in Tuesday's SINKEX, or from vessels like an LCS.

B-52 bombers from the US Air Forces' Expeditionary 69th Bomb Squadron also dropped ordnance during the exercise, and the Republic of Singapore multirole stealth frigates RSS Formidable and RSS Intrepid fired surface-to-surface Harpoon missiles at the Ford.

The Gabrielle Giffords is the first LCS to perform an integrated NSM mission in the Indo-Pacific region.

Littoral combat ships can carry MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aboard, as well as Mark 110 57 mm guns and .50-caliber machine guns.

Many littoral combat ships have Harpoon missiles aboard, which don't have the long range of the NSM.

Littoral combat ships are designed for use in the open ocean and closer to shore, in littoral waters. They typically perform mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare, but they are capable of performing a variety of missions, according to the Navy.

The Navy follows very specific protocols when performing a so-called SINKEX.

Decommissioned vessels that are used in these kinds of exercises, like the Ford, are referred to as "hulks."

They must be sunk in at least 6,000 feet of water and at least 50 nautical miles from land.

Before they're sunk, they're cleared of transformers and capacitors, as well as of trash, petroleum, and harmful chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury, and materials containing fluorocarbons, according to a Navy release.

Watch the full video here:

• A report from a US State Department official on Thursday provides a clearer picture as to how the August 8 Skyfall accident occurred at a secret Russian military testing range.
• "The United States has determined that the explosion near Nyonoksa, Russia, was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile," the official wrote. "The missile remained on the bed of the White Sea since its failed test early last year, in close proximity to a major population center."
• Amid confusion and obfuscation from Russia and speculation from analyst, the report gives a clearer picture of how the accident, which killed seven Russians, occurred.
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.

An August 8 nuclear accident near Nyonoksa, Russia, was caused by a nuclear reaction that occurred while Russians were attempting to recover a nuclear-powered cruise missile submerged in the White Sea after a failed test last year.

A report to the UN General Assembly First Committee on Thursday by Thomas G. DiNanno, the deputy assistant secretary and senior bureau official at the State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, ended months of speculation about the exact cause of the accident, which killed seven Russians.

While experts at the time determined that the cause was a nuclear-reactor explosion and tied it to the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, which NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, DiNanno's report gives a clearer picture of how the accident occurred.

"Russia also has much to answer for regarding the August 8th 'Skyfall' incident," DiNanno wrote.

"The United States has determined that the explosion near Nyonoksa, Russia, was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile. The missile remained on the bed of the White Sea since its failed test early last year, in close proximity to a major population center," according to the assessment.

"It's good to have confirmation on these questions," Joshua Pollack, senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Insider, adding that the report confirms many of the findings of CNS researchers.

"The timing is also eyebrow-raising. This does indeed seem like a long time to let a nuclear reactor sit on the sea floor," he said. 

After the accident, Russia's explanations and reactions to it varied greatly, from ordering an evacuation of the area to canceling it hours later. Four radiation sensor sites also went mysteriously offline after the accident, pointing to a potential cover-up. Russian officials said they were not obligated to share the data, which could have helped point to the cause of the accident, The New York Times reported.

Officials also declined to tell doctors treating engineers affected by the blast that they had been exposed to nuclear radiation and requested hospital staff sign a nondisclosure agreement, The Moscow Times originally reported.

Russian state media reported at the time that the explosion was caused by a liquid propellant jet engine that exploded while it was being tested, which did not explain the spike in radiation levels in the area after the accident. By the end of August, a Russian official had acknowledged the accident was "linked to the development of weapons which we had to begin creating as one of the tit-for-tat measures in the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty,"The New York Times reported.

DiNanno's report still leaves some questions, Pollack told Insider. 

"It's still not clear why the reactor went critical after being lifted out of the water. We know very little about its design," he said. "But it underscores the foolishness of the entire enterprise." 

Read more: New details on Russia's mysterious missile disaster suggest a nuclear reactor blew up

If Russia is able to ever successfully build the nuclear-propelled Skyfall missile, it would represent an alarming new threat to the US, as The New York Times reported in August. It could fly at low altitudes for a seemingly unlimited range and change direction to evade traditional missile defenses.

"Attempts to build nuclear-propelled missiles are a relic of the early Cold War," Pollack told Insider. "These devices have never flown successfully, as far as I am aware, and have certainly never been deployed. The entire concept should be relegated to the past."

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• Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Russian city of Kaliningrad last Thursday and told Defense Minister Sergei Shoyu that the new corvette Gremyashchi would carry the Zircon hypersonic missiles still being developed. 
• According to Putin and Russian state media, the missile can reach speeds of Mach 9 and hit targets in the US in five minutes. 
• The missiles could be deployed as soon as 2020. 
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Oct. 31 that the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile will "certainly" be onboard the Russian Navy's newest corvette, set to enter service next month, according to RT. The Zircon, or Tsirkon, missile, while reportedly still under development, cannot be intercepted by any defense systems currently in use, according to Russian state media outlet TASS. 

Putin toured the corvette Gremyashchi on a visit to the northwestern Russian city of Kaliningrad last Thursday. "It will certainly have Tsirkon,"Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoyu. 

The Zircon missile reportedly travels at nine times the speed of sound; the term "hypersonic" is generally understood to mean an object travels at least five times the speed of sound. The missile was still under development as of February, when Russia-1, the state television station, threatened five US positions including the Pentagon, saying that the Zircon missile could hit the targets in less than five minutes. 

Dmitry Stefanovich,  Russian International Affairs Council expert and Vatfor project co-founder, told Insider that the corvettes "were not considered to be the priority platform for Tsirkons," but that Russia believes its "advantage lies in a general idea that the Navy needs both surface and submarine combatants for different missions, and those have to be armed to the hilt."

Also in February, Putin claimed in his Address to the Federal Assembly that the missile's development was progressing according to schedule.

Putin used the missile to threaten the US should it deploy any new nuclear missiles closer to Russia as the INF treaty began to unravel in February.

"You work it out: Mach nine, and over 1,000 km," Putin told Russian media at the time, Reuters reported.

While the claims of Russian state media and Russian leadership are impossible to verify, Putin has said that the Zircon can destroy both sea and land targets.

"Some people tend to 'overhype' Tsirkon's capabilities, others try hard to downplay its importance, as both in the US and in Russia experts have their own agenda," Stefanovich told Insider.

"My personal belief is that when this weapon will finally be deployed, it will not be as impressive as most people expect it to be, but still the speed would be unmatched, and Mach 8 at least on most of the flight seems feasible." As for range, Stefanovich said the missile would likely only be able to reach the maximum range of 1,000 km if it didn't have to evade missile defense systems — otherwise, a range of 400 to 800 km would be more realistic.

That is less than the range of the Tomahawk cruise missile the US uses for land-attack missions, but much farther than the Harpoon and Naval Strike Missiles used by the US Navy to strike enemy ships.

The Zircon is compatible with the Kalibr missile systems, which are already aboard the Gremyashchiy corvette, according to the Center for Strategic International Studies' Missile Threat project. TASS reports that the Gremyashchiy is the first corvette in the Pacific Fleet to carry the Kalibr missiles. 

And while it's not been officially reported that the Zircon is nuclear capable,"the conventional penetrating high-explosive warhead is good enough to sink or destroy most of the targets, but the general belief is that most Russian missiles are dual-capable," with a payload of about 300 kg, Stefanovich told Insider. 

According to the Federation of American Scientists, the Zircon could potentially be deployed next year. 

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• The Russian military has reportedly obtained one of Israel's most advanced air defense missiles from the David's Sling battery.
• Russia could use the recovered missile, designed to intercept ballistic missiles in flight, to figure out how to defeat it and share that with US and Israeli foes like Iran.
• "If I was Israel, my big concern is that if Russia can get the intelligence to defeat the interceptor to Iran," a missile defense expert told Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Russian military has reportedly obtained one of Israel's most advanced air defense missiles from the David's Sling battery, the Times of Israel reports, raising the possibility that Russia could quickly figure out how to defeat a cutting-edge system designed to destroy ballistic missiles in flight and share that with US and Israeli foes like Iran.

The Russian military reportedly obtained the missile in July of 2018, when Israel fired it against Russian-made Syrian rockets headed toward Israeli terrority. Of the two missiles the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired at Syria, one was self-detonated by the Israeli Air Force when it became clear the Syrian weapons wouldn't breach Israel's border.

The other missile reportedly landed intact within Syria, where, as Chinese news agency SINA reported Saturday, it was picked up by Syrian forces and handed over to Russia, which is fighting alongside the regime troops under Bashar al-Assad.

The David's Sling is a medium-range missile interceptor and was built by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and US company Raytheon as a replacement for the Patriot missile battery built to defeat ballistic missiles. Israel first obtained the system in 2017; July 2018 is believed to be the first operational use of the system, which fires the Stunner missile. 

"It's certainly a concern. If I was at Rafael, I'd be nervous right now," Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic International Studies, told Insider. 

The concern, Williams said, is not so much that Russia will produce a copy of the system for its own use as other countries might. "If Iran captured this thing, we would see an identical system two years from now," he told Insider. 

But if Russia has indeed got its hands on the Stunner missile, it could study the technology and figure out how to defeat the David's Sling system, which would be a massive problem for the countries — like Poland — where Israel is attempting to sell the system, not to mention Israel itself.

"If I was Israel, my big concern is that if Russia can get the intelligence to defeat the interceptor to Iran," Williams said.

Dmitry Stefanovich, Russian International Affairs Council expert and Vatfor project co-founder, told Insider that Russia could also potentially use the missile to refine its own systems — "both offensive and defensive."

"In terms of air defense interceptors, they're no slouches themselves, they do have pretty advanced, very sophisticated interceptors as is," Williams said, citing the S-300, S-400, and S-500 systems.

SINA also reported that the United States and Israel requested that Russia return the missile to Israel; however, that effort was unsuccessful. Neither Russia nor the IDF has confirmed reports of the missile coming into Russian possession, according to the Times of Israel.

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NOW WATCH: A podiatrist explains heel spurs, the medical condition Trump said earned him a medical deferment from Vietnam

• An underground missile complex is on the market in Arizona for $400,000.
• The complex was designed to hold a Titan II missile, which carried nuclear warheads from one continent to another.
• It was decommissioned in the mid-1980s and is now available for buyers in the Tucson area.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If you're in the market for a bunker in the southwest, you're in luck. A decommissioned missile complex is now on sale outside of Tucson for nearly $400,000. The complex was home to an armed Titan II missile for 24 years, before it was decommissioned in the 1980s.

The structure is listed with Grant Hampton at Realty Executives.

Now, the home is back on the market, and these photos show what lies underground in Arizona.

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Travel a little off the beaten path in Arizona, and you could find a decommissioned missile complex.

The entrance to the missile silo blends into the brown landscape, so it's hard to see if you're not looking for it.

If you know where to look, it gives you access to a massive underground complex.

The top of the silo has been demolished and filled in.

But the access portal, command center, and decontamination area are still accessible.

3 blast doors also remain from the original design.

They each weigh 7,000 pounds and are designed to withstand shockwaves.

The complex was originally built in 1962 as a missile silo.

Source: Titan Missile Museum

Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

It was designed to carry a nuclear warhead to another continent.

It was stored underground, with fuel on hand, ready to launch at all times.

The Titan II was the largest land missile ever held by the US.

The missile was armed and ready to go from this spot for 24 years.

In the mid-80s, the complex was decommissioned.

The complex sat untouched as a time capsule from the time it was decommissioned until it was purchased by the current owners in 2003.

The current owners then had the massive task of digging out the access portal and rebuilding the top layer of concrete.

They had planned to rent out the space for storage, but the financial crisis altered their plans, and now they're ready to sell.

Now, the 4,000 square foot underground space is on the market.

The control center is 3 stories tall.

The missile complex is for sale along with nearly 13 acres of surrounding property.

It's listed for $395,000.

Despite the remote feel of the space, it's located only about 30 minutes northwest of Tucson.

Right now, the listing agents are only showing to buyers with "proof of funds or private financing," so don't expect to talk your way into a tour.

However, if you're in the Tucson area and interested, the Titan II Missile Museum is located nearby.

Titan II Missile Museum

• North Korea warned the US earlier this month that failure to meet Pyongyang's expectations could result in an undesirable "Christmas gift."
• "What I would expect is some type of long-range ballistic missile would be the gift," Gen. Charles Brown, the Pacific Air Forces commander, said Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
• He further explained to reporters that the US has a "lot of stuff" that it "can dust off pretty quickly and be ready to use" if North Korea reignites tensions.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A top US Air Force general said Tuesday that the US is preparing responses just in case North Korea fires a long-range missile amid the stalled peace talks, possibly reigniting the tensions that characterized 2017.

North Korea warned earlier this month that "it is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift" it gets, suggesting that failure to meet Pyongyang's expectations could yield undesirable results.

"It's not implausible that they could give the world a Christmas or New Year gift of an ICBM test," Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT, previously told Insider.

"What I would expect is some type of long-range ballistic missile would be the gift. It's just a matter of, does it come on Christmas Eve? Does it come on Christmas Day? Does it come in after the new year?" Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the Pacific Air Forces commander, said Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

While there have been a number of short-range tests in recent months, North Korea has not launched a long-range missile since its successful test of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017.

"We're watching," Brown added, acknowledging that there are other possibilities. "I think there are a range of things that could occur."

North Korea has given Washington until the end of the year to change the way it negotiates with Pyongyang. It has said that it will pursue a "new path" if the US does not lift its heavy sanctions in return for North Korea's moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear testing. While the threat remains unclear, North Korea is using language similar to past ICBM tests.

Brown said Tuesday that the US military is dusting off responses should efforts to secure a diplomatic peace between the US and North Korea fail.

"Our job is to backstop the diplomatic efforts. And, if the diplomatic efforts kind of fall apart, we got to be ready," he explained. "Go back to 2017, there's a lot of stuff we did in 2017 that we can dust off pretty quickly and be ready to use."

"We are looking at all of the things we have done in the past," Brown added.

During the "fire and fury" tensions between the US and North Korea that defined 2017, the US routinely flew bombers over the Korean Peninsula as a symbol of support for US allies and as a warning to the North Korean regime.

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• Two decommissioned missile silos are for sale in southern Arizona.
• Both were designed to hold Titan II missiles, which were designed to carry nuclear warheads from one continent to another.
• Another silo of the same type just sold for $420,000, also in Arizona indicating these structures might be making a comeback, at least among a certain type of buyer.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Arizona is apparently the place to be if you're in the market for an underground lair.

Last month, a Titan II Missile complex that was decommissioned in the 1980s lasted only ten days on the market before it was bought above asking price at $420,000. Realtor Grant Hampton told Business Insider that multiple offers were on the table, making these missile silos a hot commodity.

Now, two more of these complexes are for sale in southern Arizona. Both will be listed with Grant Hampton at Realty Executives for $495,000 each. No offers will be accepted for the first ten days to allow potential buyers from out of state, or even out of the country. 

The Titan II missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to carry nuclear warheads from one continent to another. These complexes were built during heightened tensions of the Cold War, during the 1960s. The missiles were stored underground, in complexes like these, armed and ready to launch at all times for more than 20 years. The Titan II was the largest land missile ever held by the US, but it was never used.

Take a peek inside to see what lies underground in Arizona. 

SEE ALSO: A decommissioned nuclear missile complex in Arizona that was abandoned for decades just sold for $420,000

The first complex, Titan II 570-1, is located near Oracle, Arizona.

This one is easily accessible, according to Hampton, and already connected to the city's water infrastructure, which should make whatever renovations the future owner has planned easier.

Hampton said that this complex is in "great shape," with duct work and fixtures in place.

The complex comes with 11.78 acres of land.

This complex was built in 1962 and remained active for over 20 years before it was decommissioned in 1984.

After the missiles were deactivated and contractors salvaged the materials that they could, the remaining sites were sold off privately. A few are still available, and this one is in particularly good shape.

The second site, Titan II 571-1, is located outside of Benson, Arizona.

This complex is a nearly perfect time capsule. It was sealed and has only been accessed twice since its 1984 decommission.

During the two times the complex was accessed in 2015 and 2016, old documents were discovered from when it was active.

A preserved 1984 newspaper is from the last year the complex was manned and armed.

The complex is buried underground and has a private well and access to electricity.

After it was deactivated, access to the control center was blocked off, although it has since been re-accessed.

If the quick sale over asking price of the Tucson Titan II complex is any indication, these properties will also go soon. 

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stopped a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday night to deliver news that Iran had attacked US forces in Iraq, and somberly told the room to "pray," Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told outlets.
• Several outlets, including Axios and CNN reported on Pelosi's comments, citing Dingell and other lawmakers who were in the room when news of the attack was discussed. 
• Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday night that she was "closely monitoring the situation." 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stopped a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday night to deliver news that Iran had attacked US forces in Iraq. She somberly told the room to "pray," Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan who was in the meeting, told news outlets.

Axios and CNN reported on Pelosi's comments, citing Dingell and other lawmakers who were in the room when news of the attack was discussed. 

According to CNN's Haley Byrd and Manu Raju, Pelosi was meeting with key House Democrats when she was handed a note with news of the rocket launch. Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan says she paused the meeting in order to alert the members of the House Steering Committee.

Pelosi told members of the committee to "pray," according to Dingell.

Rep. Ted Lieu of California added that Pelosi expressed that it was a serious time.

Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday night that she was "closely monitoring the situation." 

"We must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence," she said. "America & world cannot afford war."

On Tuesday night, Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq hosting US and Iraqi military personnel in apparent retaliation for the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week. 

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed responsibility for the attack. US officials confirmed "it is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran."

The White House press secretary said in a statement that the president was "aware" of the attacks on the Iraqi facilities and that President Donald Trump and his national security team would be "monitoring the situation closely." 

• Read more:
• Photos of Iranians flooding the streets for Soleimani's funeral show how much he was revered, and hint at how hard Iran may strike back
• Trump's order to kill Iran's top general has sparked a catastrophe of his own making and left him globally isolated
• Why Iran's Qassem Soleimani was on a not-so-secret trip to Iraq when he was assassinated
• Iran has vowed revenge on the US after Trump's airstrike killed its top military commander. Here's how it could happen.

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• Iranian forces launched a series of ballistic missiles against two US-occupied bases in Iraq early Wednesday morning.
• Iranian state TV has aired clips that it says show the moment its military launched the missiles from their bases amid bright orange fire into the dark sky.
• An Iranian flag can be seen in the top left corner of the video — an apparent show of national unity.
• Watch it below.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Iranian state TV has aired a clip that it says shows the moment its military launched ballistic missiles toward US-occupied bases in Iraq on Wednesday, in apparent retaliation for the US drone strike that killed top military commander Qassem Soleimani last week.

The US Department of Defense confirmed the missile strike, saying it was "clear" that the missiles were launched from Iran and targeted two military bases at Al-Assad and Irbil that host US and Iraqi troops. No injuries have been reported.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also claimed responsibility for the attack.

The video, aired on Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) at 1:40 p.m. local time, showed footage of multiple missiles being launched from their bases amid bright orange fire and smoke into the dark sky.

Watch it here:

An Iranian flag can be seen in the top left corner of the state-TV report — an apparent show of national unity after days of showing a black strip to mourn Soleimani's death, according to BBC Monitoring journalist Kian Sharifi.

Hours after the missile strike President Donald Trump tweeted that "all is well," while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javid Zarif tweeted that the strikes were "proportionate measures of self-defense" against the US' "cowardly armed attack" against Soleimani.

• Read more:
• Iran fires more than a dozen ballistic missiles at US forces in Iraq in apparent retaliation for the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani
• Iranian official trolls Trump by tweeting Iran's flag after missile attack on US troops
• Iran claims its missile strike against US troops was made in 'self-defense' after Trump's 'cowardly' attack
• Pelosi reportedly told a room full of House Democrats to 'pray' following news of Iranian attack on US forces in Iraq

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• Ukraine said it is investigating whether a missile or a terrorist attack could have downed the Ukrainian plane that in Iran crashed on Wednesday, killing 176 people.
• Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed minutes after takeoff, and Iran's initial report said it experienced an unnamed technical problem, echoing reasons given by Iranian authorities in the hours after the crash.
• The secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said Ukraine is considering if the plane was destroyed by an anti-aircraft missile, brought down in a terror attack, or collided with an object in the sky.
• Ukraine did not dismiss Iran's explanation that a technical problem caused the crash.
• Speculation has spread since Wednesday as the crash took place amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran, but Iran has dismissed the idea that a missile was involved.
• Iran, which had the highest number of citizens on board, will conduct an investigation with contributions from Ukraine and other countries.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Ukrainian investigators are looking at whether the plane that crashed in Iran killing 176 people Wednesday was brought down by a missile or terrorist attack, even as Iran points to a technical failure as the cause of the disaster.

Oleksiy Danylov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, wrote on Facebook on Thursday, the day after the fatal crash, that his team are considering a number of possibilities for how the plane was downed.

These include: 

• The plane being destroyed by an anti-aircraft missile, particularly a Russian missile.
• One of the plane's engines exploding due to a technical fault.
• A terrorist attack causing an explosion inside the plane.
• A collision with an unmanned aerial vehicle, e.g. a drone, or other flying object.

Ukraine did not offer insight into how likely these scenarios are, nor did it dismiss Iran's theory that the crash was caused by a technical fault.

Danylov said that Ukrainian investigators have been meeting with Iranian authorities, including with members of its international civil aviation organization.

He told Ukrainian news outlet Censor.net that Ukraine is working with Iran to try and get access to the crash site.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned against "speculation or unchecked theories regarding the catastrophe" after the crash on Wednesday.

"All possible versions of what occurred must be examined," he said.

The doomed plane belonged to Ukraine International Airlines, and 11 of those on board were Ukrainian.

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 took off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini just after 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, and crashed several minutes later while en route to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. 

Iranian officials initially blamed technical problems in the hour after the crash and dismissed the possibility of terrorism. Some agencies then walked back those statements, only for Iran's initial report into the crash on Thursday to also note an unnamed technical problem.

Speculation has mounted as to other possible causes for the crash, particularly amid the increased tensions in Iran after the US assassinated its top general, and Iran retaliated by attacking bases housing US troops in Iraq.

Hours before the plane crash, Iran attacked two Iraqi military bases that housed US and coalition forces with missiles.

There is no evidence that Flight 752's crash is linked to those missile attacks.

Danylov said that his team wants to look for possible debris from a Russian missile, the Tor air defense missile, after seeing online reports about the discovery of possible fragments of one near the crash site.

These reports were not confirmed, and there is no indication Ukraine is accusing Russia of downing the plane.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war for years, and Danylov said that the Ukrainian investigators looking into the crash include the experts who participated in the investigation into the 2014 shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

The plane was shot down over an area of Ukraine that is held by pro-Russia separatists, with investigators concluding that it was shot down with a Russian military missile.

Iran's civil aviation authority's initial report into the crash, released on Thursday, said that the plane suffered a technical fault soon after taking off and that it was on fire in the air and appeared to try return to Tehran airport before hitting the ground.

A spokesperson for Iran's military dismissed the idea that the plane could have been shot down, calling it a "lie."

General Abolfazl Shekarchi described the idea as "psychological warfare" from the US.

"Most of the passengers on this plane were invaluable Iranian youth; everything we do is aimed at defending our people's and country's security."

Ukraine International Airlines has said the plane was basically new and the crew were experienced, and said it had been inspected with no issues found just two days before the crash. 

Iran will investigate the crash under international law, and such investigations typically see the countries where victims are from — like Ukraine in this case — get involved in the investigation, as well as the plane's manufacturer.

But questions loom over the nature of the investigation as Iran has hinted at keeping Boeing out of the proceedings.

The final report will likely take at least a year to complete, based on what is typical in the industry.

• Read more about the crash:

• Ukrainian Flight 752 was on fire and seemed to be turning back before it crashed in Iran and killed 176 people, the first report into the disaster said

• Speculation is mounting over whether the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran was shot down as the investigation runs into political roadblocks

• Iran refuses to hand over the crashed Ukrainian Boeing 737's black box to the embattled manufacturer

• These are the unanswered questions about the crash of a Ukrainian plane in Iran that killed 176 people

• The Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane that crashed over Iran was only 3 years old and underwent maintenance checks 2 days ago

Join the conversation about this story »

• Iran is doubling down in denying that the plane crash that killed 176 people on Wednesday could have been caused by one of its missiles.
• A government representative called the idea a "big lie" it described as a "psychological operation of the US government."
• Both and US and Canada say their intelligence indicates the Ukraine International Airlines flight was brought down by an Iranian missile. An Iranian presidential adviser said Persian-language media was "warned" against repeating the "psychological warfare."
• Ukraine said that the missile theory was not yet confirmed and that its goal was "to establish the undeniable truth."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Iran is doubling down in denying allegations that it shot down a Ukrainian plane, calling them a "big lie" and accusing the US of carrying out a "psychological operation" meant to discredit its story.

Both the US and Canada say their intelligence indicates an Iranian missile shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which crashed Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people on board.

Such an incident could have happened in error, as the crash took place while Iran was bracing for the possibility of US retaliation to its missile strikes hours earlier on bases housing US troops in Iraq.

Iran reacted to the claims by anonymous US intelligence officials and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday by saying the country's missiles would not have been able to reach the plane's altitude, though other information about the missiles disputes this.

And on Friday morning, the government spokesman Ali Rabiei called the idea Iran downed the plane a "big lie."

"No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent," he said in a statement, according to state media outlet Press TV.

"It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government, and those supporting it knowingly and unknowingly, are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimizing them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies," he said.

While Iran walked back its statements mere hours after the crash ruling out a terrorist attack, it has consistently pushed back against ideas that the crash could have involved a missile or such an attack.

Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's civil aviation organization, was more measured in his comments Friday morning but said Iran could say with "certainty that no missile has hit this airplane."

And Hesameddin Ashena, an adviser to Iran's president, said on Friday that Persian-language media had been "warned" against repeating the "psychological warfare" Iran said was being carried out by Western nations.

Intelligence suggests an Iranian missile was responsible, as Iran weighs up what role to give other countries in the investigation

Multiple reports Thursday cited a host of US intelligence officials who said it was "highly likely," based on information available, that Iran was responsible.

These included sources telling CBS that intelligence detected antiaircraft radars turning on before the crash and that satellites detected two infrared blips, thought to be SA-15 missiles, that were quickly followed by another blip, the suspected aircraft explosion.

The New York Times said it had verified a video that appeared to show a missile hitting the plane.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800 NG operated by Ukraine International Airlines, was flying from Tehran, Iran, to Kyiv, Ukraine.

Trudeau on Thursday said intelligence from Canada and its allies indicated that the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile and called for a "thorough" investigation. Sixty-three Canadians were killed on the flight.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the idea the plane was shot down had not been confirmed and that he wanted Canada, the US, the UN, and other countries with data about the crash to share their evidence.

"Our goal is to establish the undeniable truth,"he said.

Ukraine had said on Thursday that it wanted to investigate the possibility that the plane was downed by a missile and was working with Iran to gain access to the site.

The crash took place just hours after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at US forces in Iraq in retaliation to the US airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week.

Pentagon officials told Newsweek that they thought the missile most likely hit the plane by accident, as Iranian defense systems were probably active at the time it was flying. Nearly half of the plane's passengers were Iranian.

Iran had said in its initial report into the crash Thursday that the plane had suffered an unnamed technical fault shortly after takeoff, was on fire in the air, and had turned back in the direction of the airport before it crashed.

Iran has signaled it will allow Boeing, an American manufacturer, to join in the investigation, despite earlier statements that it would not do so.

Iran is leading an investigation into the crash, in accordance with international law, and says it has invited other countries who had citizens on board in a bid to be transparent.

But Iran also said it wanted to try to deal with data from the plane's flight recorders itself, rather than send them to another country, and signaled it would involve other countries only if the so-called black boxes were too damaged to read using technology available in Iran.

Iran, however, is said to have used bulldozers to move around debris from the crash site, potentially destroying evidence that could help determine exactly what happened.

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• A couple spent 30 years renovating a nuclear missile silo into an underground castle.
• Now, the Kansas property is for sale for $3.2 million.
• These photos show inside the stunning property.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kansas probably isn't where you'd first look if you're in the market for a castle, but you shouldn't miss this gem.

Just 25 miles west of Topeka, this unique structure hides mostly underground. Ed and Dianna Peden bought this Cold War Atlas E nuclear missile silo and spent the last 33 years renovating it into an underground mansion and castle, which they rented out on Airbnb for years.

Now, the Pedens are hoping to simplify and downsize, so they've enlisted friend and property manager Matthew Fulkerson to sell this unusual home. Fulkerson, who also got married on the property, has lived there and worked with the Pedens for the past 10 years. 

Owning this refurbished missile silo is a once in a lifetime opportunity, with a $3.2 million price for entry. These photos show the amazing renovation that took over three decades.

SEE ALSO: 2 Cold War-era nuclear missile silos sat abandoned for decades and just went on the sale in Arizona for $495,000 each

The couple spent 33 years converting this Cold War-era nuclear missile silo into what they call a "subterra castle."

The 18,000 underground mansion is "turn-key," meaning it can be bought and moved into with no additional work.

The property is a great escape from the rest of the world, sitting on 34 secluded acres outside of Topeka, Kansas...

...with an 8-foot security fence surrounding the property, and two castle observation towers.

It even has 47-ton blast doors.

Underground entry tunnels are preserved from the property's days as a missile silo.

Some parts of the property, like the old missile bay, still look like they did when the space was in use, while others have been totally renovated.

The castle has several entertainment centers, and the furniture is available to purchase along with the property.

Cozy decor and soft lighting could make you almost forget you're underground.

These 150-foot tunnels lead to the original launch control desk...

...which still sits in its original spot.

With stonework and some lights, even the industrial tunnels fit into the underground home's aesthetic.

The Pedens say they've worked to make the space "cozy," no easy task for what is essentially a giant underground lair, but the property does have some homey charms.

The 3,500 square foot great room even has a stage.

In addition to the massive underground space, the property also has an above-ground living space.

Also above-ground is a greenhouse powered by solar energy.

The castle has two sets of four solar panels that contribute to the property's energy, along with a diesel generator.

To top it all off, the castle even has a hot tub.

The property is for sale by owner, and interested buyers can contact Matthew Fulkerson at missilebases@gmail.com.

• Visitors to the Titan missile museum in Arizona can sit at the now decommissioned controls of the intercontinental ballistic missile once built to attack Russia with devastating nuclear force.
• The Titan II at this facility had a pre-set destination of "target 2"— a location that remains secret — and would have struck with a force 250 times that of both the US bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SAHUARITA, ARIZ. — The Titan II missile museum here is one of 54 former Titan II missile silos across the US, but it's the only one where tourists can go underground, sit at the controls, and take a look at the real, 103-foot-long Cold War-era nuclear Titan II missile once built to attack Russia with nuclear warheads.

The 147-foot-deep silo is open to the public and is located just outside Tucson, Arizona. Read on for a look at this chilling artifact of the Cold War.

From the outside, the Titan II missile museum doesn't look like much — just a small building housing the gift shop, a few dopplers outside, and a dust-colored steel mound covering the missile underneath.

But, after a short introductory video inside the main building, visitors embark on a guided tour in the control room and the hidden silo itself, which reaches 147 feet underground.

When the silo was operational, personnel on duty descended into the control room through the access portal and into the entrapment area, where they had to confirm their clearance to access the site using a code spoken through a telephone like the one below.

Four crew members were on duty at all times in the silo. Each crew member served a 24-hour shift, and no crew member could be left alone during the shift because of the classified activity at the site.

The 24-hour clock in the control room was set to Zulu, or Greenwich Mean Time, and had to be rewound manually every eight days. It's still ticking for visitors.

The control room, where crew members awaited a phone call from the National Command Authority telling them to launch the Titan II missile, looks exactly as it did when the site was commissioned in 1963.

The facility, one of 18 in the Tucson area and 54 total in the US, became operational in 1963, and was deactivated in 1982 during then-President Ronald Reagan's effort to upgrade the US's nuclear weapons. The other facilities were in the areas surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas, and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

The control room is separated from the outer wall of the facility by 11 inches of highly engineered shock absorbers so that in the event of a nuclear blast or some other type of explosion, the crew members in the control room wouldn't even spill their coffee, according to tour guide Jim Sprigg.

The missile itself was launched from the control room by two crew members simultaneously turning their launch keys at their control stations. Fifty-eight seconds after the keys were turned, the missile would launch, "and no human could stop it," Sprigg said.

At the Sahuarita facility, the missile's destination was Target 2 — and none of the crew members knew where that was. The information is still classified to this day.

The Titan II would reach its target destination 30 to 35 minutes after it was launched. Powered by 43,000 pounds of thrust, the missile had a yield of nine megatons — about 250 times the yield of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

This drawer held the launch keys for the missile, and the locks on either side of the drawer were considered classified equipment.

Target 2 was designated as a ground burst, meaning the Titan II at Sahuarita was intended to destroy a facility underground by concentrating its explosive force downward. Its hypergolic propellants — nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine — ignited only when they combined, creating a fast and reliable detonation.

Several scenes from Star Trek: First Contact were filmed here at the museum. It's one of only two such museums in the US — the other being the Minuteman Missile Silo in South Dakota.

The crew on duty inspected the missile silo facilities top to bottom each day — a process that could take three to four hours.

• A total of 109 US service members have been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries since the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq in early January.
• President Donald Trump previously characterized the injuries as "not very serious," prompting criticism from a leading veterans group that demanded an apology.
• In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, the president doubled down, saying he wouldn't change his mind.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his assertion that the injuries suffered by US troops during an Iranian missile attack on US forces are "not very serious."

Retaliating for the death of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the hands of the US military, Iran fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at US and coalition forces in Iraq in early January. In the immediate aftermath, the president announced that "no Americans were harmed" and moved to de-escalate tensions.

Since then, the number of US troops diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries has steadily risen to 109, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Symptoms of a TBI can be slow to manifest and sometimes harder to detect than other injuries. The Department of Defense has offered this as an explanation for initial misreporting on injuries.

While roughly 70% of the injured troops, many of which were taken out of Iraq for care, have already returned to duty, 21 have been transported to the US for additional treatment, suggesting their injuries may be more severe.

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, the president said he didn't think the Iranians "were looking to do too much damage, because they knew what the consequences were going to be."

"I saw the missiles. We saw them going ... They landed in a way that they didn't hit anybody," Trump told Fox Business' Trish Regan.

The president said that he "stopped something that would have been very devastating for" the Iranians, an apparent reference to US de-escalation in the aftermath of the attack.

"And then a couple of weeks later I started hearing about people having to do with trauma, head trauma," he said. "That exists. But it's, you know, I viewed it a little bit differently than most, and I won't be changing my mind on that."

Toward the end of January, when the number of troops who had been diagnosed with mild TBIs had increased, Trump told reporters that the injuries were "not very serious."

"I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report that it's not very serious," he told reporters in Davos, Switzerland. "I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I've seen."

While it remains unclear exactly how severe the injuries are, veterans groups and TBI-awareness advocates have sharply criticized the president's comments.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars said in a statement in January that it "expects an apology from the president to our service men and women for his misguided remarks."

"We ask that he and the White House join with us in our efforts to educate Americans of the dangers TBI has on these heroes as they protect our great nation in these trying times. Our warriors require our full support more than ever in this challenging environment."

SEE ALSO: More and more US troops battered in Iran's missile attack have traumatic brain injuries, and it could be a problem for the rest of their lives

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