LONDON Ñ Iran says it seeks to develop a missile with a range of
1,500 kilometers that can strike any target in Israel.
A senior Iranian defense official said Teheran has developed what he
termed the Shihab-2 missile as an answer to Israel's Jericho
intermediate-range missile. The Jericho-2 missile is said to have a range of
1,500 kilometers and can be tipped with a nuclear warhead, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Our main goal in developing this [missile] is to strike Israeli targets
in case we undergo an Israeli missile strike," Wahidi was quoted as saying.
Iran does not have any plans to develop a missile beyond that of 1,500
kilometers, Wahidi said. Stressing that Iran's target is Israel, the
official denied reports that Teheran seeks to develop a long-range missile
that can strike Europe or the United States.
"They say we are planning to develop a missile with a range of 12,000
kilometers in order to strike the United States," Wahidi said. "This is
incorrect because U.S. territory is not included in our goals for strategic
defense."
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Wahidi, an official of the Iranian Aerospace Industrial
Organization, told the London-based Al Hayat daily on Thursday that Teheran
will develop the Shihab-2 missile with a range of more than 1,300
kilometers. But he said Teheran plans to extend the range of the Shihab-2 by
at least 200 kilometers.
Wahidi said Iran launched the Shihab-2 in Iran last May in a flight
test. He said the test "proved Iran's capability in
developing a ballistic missile that can exceed a range of 1,300 kilometers
with a high degree of precision."
The next stage of the development in the Shihab-2, the official said, is
to extend the range of the missile to 1,500 kilometers. He said this would
allow the Shihab-2 to attack targets throughout Israel.
Wahidi said Iran will soon launch a Shihab-2 missile to boost into space
orbit what he termed an experimental reconnaissance satellite. He said Iran
was forced to develop satellite and booster capabilities because Teheran
could obtain them from foreign sources. The official did not provide a date
for the satellite launch.
The Aerospace Industries Organization, also known as the Sanam
Industrial Group, is headed by the Defense Ministry and the Revolutionary
Guard Corps. Sanam is said to be the lead organization for the development
of the Shihab-3 and Shihab-4 missiles.
Western intelligence sources said the figures and data presented by the
Iranian defense official appeared confusing. The sources said the Shihab-2
missile was determined to have a range of between 500 and 800 kilometers.
In March 2001, U.S. missile analyst Michael Eisenstadt asserted that
Iran produced 100 Shihab-2 missiles. He said the Shihab-2 had a range of 500
kilometers.
Iran has been testing its Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile, with a
range of 1,300 kilometers. The last test of the Shiahb-3 was reported in
mid-August and was aborted early in the flight.
The sources said neither the Shihab-2 nor the Shihab-3 would have the
capability to boost satellites into space. They said such a missile would
require a greater range and appears to suited to the Shihab-4 or Shihab-5
intermediate- and long-range programs.
"What is clear is that the entire interview appears to be based on
Iran's justification to develop missiles with a greater range than that of
the Shihab-3," a Western intelligence source who monitors Iran's missile
programs said.
