Rubin, who has been closely following Iran's missile programs, said the
launch on July 9 was that of a legacy Shihab-3. He said this was a variant
of the North Korean liquid-fuel No-Dong, with a range of 1,300 kilometers.
"From what I saw, this is an old version of the Shihab-3, and contrary
to their claims, it is not capable of reaching 2,000 kilometers, rather
1,300 kilometers," Rubin said.
Other analysts agreed. Several of them, including Mark Fitzpatrick, a
leading strategist at the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies, said Teheran doctored a photograph of a Shihab-3 launch on the
website of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Nathan Farber, a senior researcher at the Israel Technical Institute, or
Technion, said Teheran has not unveiled its latest missile. Farber said Iran
was developing the Ashura solid-propellant missile with a range of 2,000
kilometers.
Ashura was said to be slower than the Shihab-3, of which hundreds were
manufactured over the last decade, and designed to reach Israel in 14
minutes. Farber said the liquid-fuel Shihab-3 could strike Israel within 11
minutes.
Still, the Israeli government sought to counter Iran's missile claim. On
Thursday, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled its Eitam
strategic unmanned aerial vehicle. Eitam was designed for deep-penetration
combat and reconnaissance missions.
