Two missiles detected in the Mediterranean by Russian radar on Tuesday were launched as part of an Israeli air defence drill, officials in Tel Aviv have said.
Israeli defence ministry sources said the two rockets were launched as test targets for the country’s missile defence systems. The exercise was carried out jointly with the United States, the official told RIA Novosti.
Earlier Israel had denied any knowledge of the launch, which a Russian early warning radar picked up earlier this morning. The Israeli Defence Ministry said the test was conducted at 9.15am (0615 GMT), about the same time that Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported that Russian radar had detected the launch of two ballistic “objects” in the Mediterranean.
In a sign of the tensions in the region, reports of missiles being fired had an instant effect on markets. The FTSE 100 fell as much as 0.8pc to 6,456.95 and the price of Brent crude, which has risen in recent days on Middle East concerns, spiked as much as 1.2pc to $115.74 a barrel this morning. It reached a six-month high of $117.34 on Wednesday.