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Iran test-fires missile capable of striking Israel By Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies , By Yossi Melman Iran test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile yesterday which Western analysts believe is capable of hitting targets in Israel, as well as southern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East. The test, announced yesterday by Iran's media, was confirmed by the U.S. and other Western countries. Advertisement Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the midst of an election campaign, commented on the test-firing of the missile during a speech in the northern town of Semnan. The launch led to the cancelation of a two-day visit to Iran by Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, who was close to boarding a plane to Tehran when he heard that Ahmadinejad insisted on meeting him in Semnan, the site of the launch. The minister called off the whole trip, fearing Ahmadinejad would use it as a propaganda tool ahead of presidential elections next month. Ahmadinejad told the cheering crowd that he had been informed by the country's Defense Minister of the launch. He described the test as successful, and said the new missile, Sejil 2, contains "advanced technology," "precision guidance," and that it is able to exit the atmosphere before reentering to strike "precisely on target." Iranian media described the two-stage, solid-fuel missile as having a 2,000 kilometer range. The solid-fuel surface-to-surface missile is a new version of the Sejil that Iran said it had successfully tested in November. Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar indicated to Iranian television in November that the Sejil 2 missile had a range of around 2,000 kilometers. Yesterday, Najjar said that the missile was "equipped with a new navigation system as well as precise and sophisticated sensors". Israeli security experts say that the test of a missile with a 2,000 kilometer range is indicative of impressive technological advances on the part of Iran. They note that the missile improves Iran's strategic capabilities and will shorten the response time for Israel's defenses. According to Yiftah Shapir of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, the Sejil 2 is unlike the Shehab 3, whose known range is 1,300 kilometers and is based on Soviet and North Korean Scud technology. Rather it is closer to a Pakistani missile, the Shaheen II, which is based on Chinese technology. This suggests that it might be the Pakistanis who transferred technology to Iran for the development of the Sejil ballistic missile. The advantage of the missile is not only its size, but its two-stage, solid-fuel propulsion system. The Shehab missiles operate on liquid fuel, requiring longer preparation time for launch, and are therefore more vulnerable to attack, but solid-state rockets are quicker to launch, and cut down on the warning time for the defenders. However, experts say that the warhead capacity of the new missile is similar to that of the Shehab, which is estimated to weight up to 700 kilograms. Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon downplayed the importance of the new missile, but suggested that its range "should worry the Europeans." Ayalon also underlined that Iran is trying to develop a ballistic missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers that could reach the coast of the United States. Paul Ingram, executive director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), stressed that it's difficult to determine if the Sejil 2 test launch is a worrisome development, but that it sounded a lot like campaign posturing by Ahmadinejad. "It does sound like campaign rhetoric," Ingram said. "It is no coincidence that we are in the middle of an election campaign. Ahmadinejad has staked his domestic reputation on a position that has been to heighten tensions between Iran and the West. This current phase is very difficult to have any sort of cold analysis of the facts, because that is exactly what Ahmadinejad doesn't want. As with so many of these launches, the reality on the ground is so much less sensational than Ahmadinejad likes to whip up in these cases." U.S. government officials are confirming that Iran launched a missile yesterday. One official said it appeared the test was a success - that is, that Tehran succeeded in launching a medium-range missile. The announcement comes less than a month before Iran's presidential election and just two days after President Barack Obama declared a readiness to seek deeper international sanctions against Tehran if it did not respond positively to U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm the launch but said the U.S. is aware of Iran's pursuit of ballistic missiles. "Our concerns are obviously based on nuclear ambitions and the implications that long- and medium-range missiles have with respect to that," Whitman told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. "Iran is at a bit of a crossroads. They have a choice to make. They can either continue on this path of continued destabilization in the region or they can decide that they want to pursue relationships with the countries in the region and the United States that are more normalized." U.S. officials say they are still trying to determine the missile's range, trajectory and other details. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirmed that Iran conducted a successful ballistic missile test. He said that the successful test involved a missile with a range of approximately 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers. He said that because of chronic engine problems, the range is probably on the lower end of that scale. Gates said he could not say whether the test missile hit its intended target. Hours after the test, numerous U.S. defense and intelligence officials declined to even acknowledge the Iranian launch had occurred. Some referred calls to the White House and State Department, a sign of how politically sensitive the development is to the Obama administration and its continuing efforts to deal with Iran's reported efforts to build nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, a joint U.S.-Russian report by the EastWest Institute said yesterday that Iran may be one to three years away from developing a nuclear weapon, and commented on Tehran's significant advance in ballistic missile technology. The report said Iran is six to eight years away from developing a ballistic missile capable of carrying a 900 kilogram nuclear warhead. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Stop Islamic terror Muslim cleric and Orthodox Rabbi denounce plot to bomb New York Jewish centers. Keep Temple Mount Islamic Movement blasts bid to relinquish sovereignty over Temple Mount.

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