| Iran tests missile capable of reaching israel { September 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYZstd35NnYo&refer=homehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYZstd35NnYo&refer=home
Iran Tests Shahab Missile Capable of Reaching Israel (Update5) By Ladane Nasseri and Marc Wolfensberger
Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Iran, after international pressure to scrap its nuclear program, announced the test-firing of a Shahab- 3 ballistic missile capable of traveling 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), a range that puts Israel's major cities within reach.
The Shahab-3 ``bears various modifications for improved efficiency and higher capability'' and was ``launched successfully,'' state-run Fars news agency reported today, without providing details. A Shahab-3 tested in 1998 had a range of about 1,300 kilometers. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in 2004 that the missile would be improved to extend the range. Tel Aviv is 1,600 kilometers from Tehran.
Iran's latest claim for the missile's reach is ``plausible,'' Duncan Lennox, editor of Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems journal, said in a phone interview from London. The test illustrates ``a continuation of Iran's development of missile capabilities, no less and no more,'' he said.
The test, which took place during military exercises, comes as the U.S. presses the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran for defying a UN deadline to stop enriching uranium. President George W. Bush says the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is a cover for weapons development. Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says the uranium is needed to supply power stations.
Bush has said he wants a diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute, though he hasn't ruled out military action.
`Cluster Warheads'
The Shahab-3 carried ``cluster warheads,'' Agence France- Presse said, citing Iranian state-run television. It was launched from the desert near Qom, about 120 kilometers from Tehran, AFP cited the network as saying.
Iran's war games, which began today, involve the four forces of the Revolutionary Guards, its commander, Yahya Rahim Safavi, was cited as saying yesterday by Fars. The maneuvers are mainly ``a show of national power and determination for widespread defense in the face of threats,'' he said.
Iran's military exercises follow naval maneuvers led by the U.S. in the Persian Gulf earlier this week.
The U.S., joined by the U.K., Australia, France, Italy and Bahrain, deployed naval forces in international waters off the northeastern coast of Bahrain to practice procedures for preventing the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet said in an e-mailed statement. Some of those countries will become involved in enforcing sanctions against North Korea, which tested a nuclear bomb on Oct. 9.
The Iranian war games will last until Nov. 11. The operation will be spread across a third of the country's 30 provinces and will focus on the Persian Gulf, the military said.
Israeli Defense
Israel in December successfully carried out a test of its Arrow missile-defense system, which could provide protection from Iran's Shahab missiles. The Arrow missile interceptors were made with Boeing Co. parts.
The U.S. Congress has given $1.5 billion to Israel's Arrow program since the late 1980s, amid worries that the country was vulnerable to attack from nearby adversaries such as Syria and Iran.
Last Updated: November 2, 2006 12:21 EST
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