- NEW YORK - Iran this week successfully tested a missile with a range of
about 800 miles, meaning it could hit Israel or Saudi Arabia and U.S. forces
in the region, according to published reports Thursday.
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- U.S. intelligence agencies detected the
test late Tuesday or early Wednesday, tracking the launch and path of the
medium-range missile called Shahab-3, The New York Times and The Washington
Times reported Thursday.
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- The officials, while sure of the test,
could not provide immediate information on the location of the launch or
landing, both inside Iran.
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- "This weapon would allow Iran to
strike all of Israel, all of Saudi Arabia, most of Turkey and a tip of
Russia," a senior Clinton administration official told The New York
Times.
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- Another official, also unidentified,
told the Washington newspaper: "It is a significant development because
it puts all U.S. forces in the region at risk."
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- Intelligence experts investigating the
launch believe Iran bought the missile from North Korea, which has said
it would sell to any nation with hard currency.
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- Iran also is building another version
of the missile, which is expected to have a range of up to 1,240 miles
- long enough to reach central Europe, The Washington Times reported.
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- Iran has bought technology from Russia
and China, and wants not to strike its enemies but to be seen as a political
and military force in the Middle East, officials said. Israel is widely
believed to be the only nuclear power in the region, with missiles capable
of striking any Middle East nation.
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- The test comes a month after Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright praised Iranian President Mohammad Khatami,
a moderate who took office last summer and who has confronted considerable
resistance from religious and other conservatives. The region also is grappling
with recent nuclear tests in Pakistan and India.
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- Iran is working on developing a nuclear
warhead but is believed to be years away from building and testing a weapon,
The New York Times said.
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- "This test shows Iran is bent on
acquiring nuclear weapons, because no one builds an 800-mile missile to
deliver conventional explosives," Gary Milhollin, an expert on the
spread of weaponry, told the newspaper.
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