Ahmadinejad fireworks after nuclear lies.

Byline: LORD CORBETT

IRAN'S Shahab-3 missile test yesterday was a blustering response to being caught lying again about the scale of its nuclear weapons development.

But menacing still to Israel, surrounding Arab states and US bases all round the region.

The missile's range could land nuclear bombs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. On Thursday, Iranian officials are due to meet representatives of the UK, US, France, Germany, China and Russia in Geneva to discuss its nuclear defiance.

Getting caught in more nuclear lies could not have come at a more embarrassing time. Hence the fireworks.

Perhaps Ahmadinejad wants to remind Israel that if it attacks its nuclear facilities he has the means to achieve his aim of wiping Israel off the map. And having been humiliated, his reaction is typically to try to show the majority whose votes he stole that he is a tough guy in a bid to overcome the hatred his "re-election" caused.

He is literally playing with fire as the world suspects there are more covert nuclear plants.

We must not give in to this bluster. If Iran's answers are unacceptable, sanctions must be tightened more to cause further harm to its shaky oil industry.

It is a major importer of petrol because earlier sanctions have denied it the means to repair and expand refining capacity.

Iranians queuing for petrol are likely to be more concerned about their empty tanks than Ahmadinejad's empty words.