- Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani on Saturday said
Iran is developing its Shihab-3 missile as a measure against Israel's missile
power, which Tehran concluded tests of last year.
-
- The missile is thought to be capable of carrying a 1,000-kilogram
warhead over a distance of some 1,300 kilometers, allegedly bringing Israel
within missile range.
-
- While Shamkhani denied any kind of nuclear military activity
by Iran, he said his country would not leave its people without defense.
-
- "That's why we have to invest on nuclear defense
preparation," he added without elaborating.
-
- Last week, the commander of the Air Force's Air Defense
Corps, Brigadier General Ilan Biton, briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs
and Defense Committee on the successful test of the Arrow anti-missile
system. Biton noted that "the Arrow has very good capabilities to
disable Scud missiles, but its ability to intercept Iranian made long-range
Shihab missiles was merely 'good.' There is room for improving the capabilities,"
he said.
-
- MKs attending the meeting had said they understood from
Biton's briefing that the Arrow did not provide protection from Shihab
missiles, but only from Scuds and long-range Katyusha rockets. The director
of the Israeli plant that manufactures the Arrow told the committee that
Israel currently has a stock of a few dozen operational missiles.
-
- The White House has been trying to haul Iran before the
United Nations Security Council based on accusations that the Persian state
has been trying to build nuclear weapons against its Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty obligations.
-
- Iran maintains its nuclear program is entirely peaceful,
geared toward production of nuclear energy.
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