Iran tests missile capable of hitting Israel
21 May 2009
TEHRAN: Iran test-fired a new missile on Wednesday it claimed had a range capable of reaching Israel and US bases in the Middle East, sending a provocative message days after President Barack Obama pressured Tehran to accept his offer for dialogue.
The announcement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes less than a month before Iran’s presidential election. The vote could determine how Iran responds to Washington’s threat of further international sanctions if Tehran does not respond positively by year-end to US attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear programme. Analysts said the launch was likely intended for domestic consumption ahead of the June 12 elections, rather than a message to the US, which has criticised Iran’s past missile launches as stoking instability in the Middle East.
“But I don’t think the Obama administration and other nations will look at this as a constructive sign,” said Patrick Clawson, deputy director for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. After the missile test, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned that if Iran manages to produce nuclear weapons, it would “spark an arms race” in the Middle East.
A US government official confirmed there was an Iranian launch and said Washington was working to determine details such as the missile’s range and trajectory. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Iran said the solid-fuel Sajjil-2 surface-to-surface missile has a range of about 1,200 miles. It is a new version of the Sajjil missile, which the country said it successfully tested late last year and has a similar range.
Many analysts said the launch of the solid-fuel Sajjil was significant because such missiles are more accurate than liquid fuel missiles of similar range, such as Iran’s Shahab-3.
“Defence Minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar) has informed me that the Sajjil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target,” state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He did not name any future targets for the missile when he spoke during a visit to the city of Semnan, 125 miles east of the capital Tehran, where Iran’s space programme is centered.
Italy said its foreign minister, Franco Frattini, canceled a planned trip to Iran on Wednesday because Ahmadinejad wanted to meet in Semnan rather than in Tehran. Najjar said the Sajjil-2 differs from the Sajjil missile because it “is equipped with a new navigation system as well as precise and sophisticated sensors,” according to Iran’s official news agency.
Sajjil means “baked clay.” It is a reference to a story in the Holy Qura’an, in which birds sent by Almighty Allah drive off an enemy army attacking the holy city of Makkah by pelting them with stones of baked clay.
Ahmadinejad is running for re-election and has been criticised by his opponents and others for antagonising the US and mismanaging the country’s faltering economy. Iran said on Wednesday that its constitutional watchdog has approved three prominent candidates to challenge Ahmadinejad, setting up a showdown between reformists and hard-liners.
Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes have alarmed Israel. The country’s new Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pressed Obama to step up pressure on Tehran when the two met in Washington on Monday. Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the Iranian missile launch.
Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defence minister who trained in the US as an aerospace engineer, said on Wednesday’s test was apparently part of Iran’s broader quest to develop more advanced missiles and nuclear capability.
“They’re increasing their abilities to launch rockets of longer and longer range that go beyond Israel and into Europe and eventually will carry nuclear weapons,” he said.
“They’re troublemakers and you have to deal with troublemakers.” Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel’s elimination, and the Jewish state has not ruled out a military strike to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat. The Israeli government has been skeptical of US overtures to Iran, which have received a mixed response from Ahmadinejad.
Many Western experts have expressed skepticism about Iran’s professed military achievements, saying the country provides no transparency to verify its claims. Most believe Iran does not yet have the technology to produce nuclear weapons, including warheads for long-range missiles. The US released an intelligence report about 18 months ago that said Iran abandoned a secret nuclear weapons programme in 2003 under international pressure and has not restarted it.
Israel and several other countries have disputed the finding. But many in the West at least agree that Iran is seeking to develop the capability to develop weapons at some point.
A group of US and Russian scientists said in a report issued on Tuesday that Iran could produce a simple nuclear device in one to three years and a nuclear warhead in another five years after that.
The study published by the nonpartisan East West Institute also said Iran is making advances in rocket technology and could develop a ballistic missile capable of firing a 2,200-pound nuclear warhead up to 1,200 miles “in perhaps six to eight years.”
Source: thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=178635
The announcement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes less than a month before Iran’s presidential election. The vote could determine how Iran responds to Washington’s threat of further international sanctions if Tehran does not respond positively by year-end to US attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear programme. Analysts said the launch was likely intended for domestic consumption ahead of the June 12 elections, rather than a message to the US, which has criticised Iran’s past missile launches as stoking instability in the Middle East.
“But I don’t think the Obama administration and other nations will look at this as a constructive sign,” said Patrick Clawson, deputy director for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. After the missile test, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned that if Iran manages to produce nuclear weapons, it would “spark an arms race” in the Middle East.
A US government official confirmed there was an Iranian launch and said Washington was working to determine details such as the missile’s range and trajectory. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Iran said the solid-fuel Sajjil-2 surface-to-surface missile has a range of about 1,200 miles. It is a new version of the Sajjil missile, which the country said it successfully tested late last year and has a similar range.
Many analysts said the launch of the solid-fuel Sajjil was significant because such missiles are more accurate than liquid fuel missiles of similar range, such as Iran’s Shahab-3.
“Defence Minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar) has informed me that the Sajjil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target,” state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He did not name any future targets for the missile when he spoke during a visit to the city of Semnan, 125 miles east of the capital Tehran, where Iran’s space programme is centered.
Italy said its foreign minister, Franco Frattini, canceled a planned trip to Iran on Wednesday because Ahmadinejad wanted to meet in Semnan rather than in Tehran. Najjar said the Sajjil-2 differs from the Sajjil missile because it “is equipped with a new navigation system as well as precise and sophisticated sensors,” according to Iran’s official news agency.
Sajjil means “baked clay.” It is a reference to a story in the Holy Qura’an, in which birds sent by Almighty Allah drive off an enemy army attacking the holy city of Makkah by pelting them with stones of baked clay.
Ahmadinejad is running for re-election and has been criticised by his opponents and others for antagonising the US and mismanaging the country’s faltering economy. Iran said on Wednesday that its constitutional watchdog has approved three prominent candidates to challenge Ahmadinejad, setting up a showdown between reformists and hard-liners.
Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes have alarmed Israel. The country’s new Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pressed Obama to step up pressure on Tehran when the two met in Washington on Monday. Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the Iranian missile launch.
Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defence minister who trained in the US as an aerospace engineer, said on Wednesday’s test was apparently part of Iran’s broader quest to develop more advanced missiles and nuclear capability.
“They’re increasing their abilities to launch rockets of longer and longer range that go beyond Israel and into Europe and eventually will carry nuclear weapons,” he said.
“They’re troublemakers and you have to deal with troublemakers.” Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel’s elimination, and the Jewish state has not ruled out a military strike to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat. The Israeli government has been skeptical of US overtures to Iran, which have received a mixed response from Ahmadinejad.
Many Western experts have expressed skepticism about Iran’s professed military achievements, saying the country provides no transparency to verify its claims. Most believe Iran does not yet have the technology to produce nuclear weapons, including warheads for long-range missiles. The US released an intelligence report about 18 months ago that said Iran abandoned a secret nuclear weapons programme in 2003 under international pressure and has not restarted it.
Israel and several other countries have disputed the finding. But many in the West at least agree that Iran is seeking to develop the capability to develop weapons at some point.
A group of US and Russian scientists said in a report issued on Tuesday that Iran could produce a simple nuclear device in one to three years and a nuclear warhead in another five years after that.
The study published by the nonpartisan East West Institute also said Iran is making advances in rocket technology and could develop a ballistic missile capable of firing a 2,200-pound nuclear warhead up to 1,200 miles “in perhaps six to eight years.”
Source: thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=178635
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