Iran Launches Long-range Missile: Running Zionists, Imperialist Scared?

20 May 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday that Iran has successfully launched advanced surface-to surface missile called 'Sejjil-2'.

President Ahmadinejad, who is in the northeastern province of Semnan at the last leg of his 60-province tour, said the surface-to-surface missile was launched Wednesday morning in the province and successfully hit its pre-determined target. "The missile was produced in line with Tehran's deterrence policy. technology will only be used against an enemy with ill intentions," he added..

The missile which belongs to the advanced generation of surface-to-surface missiles was first tested in November, 2008. Washington said at the time that the test highlighted the need for a missile defense system it plans to base in Poland and the Czech Republic to counter threats from what it calls “rogue states”.

The Sejjil missile has a range of almost 2,000 kilometers and is different from Shahab-3 missile. It operates in two stages and uses solid fuel, whereas, Shahab-3 missile is one-stage operator and uses liquid fuel. Sejjil's range is longer than Shahab-3.

The successful test was announced by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, on Wednesday, as campaigning for the June 12 presidential election officially started.

"... we launched a Sejil-2 missile, which is a two-stage missile and it has reached the intended target," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northern city of Semnan, close to the launch site.

Analysts say the range of the surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile is between 1,200km and 2,000km.

A US defence official confirmed the launch, saying that the missile appeared to be consistent with Tehran's older Ashura models, long known to US intelligence.

Ahmadinejad, whose moderate challengers in the June 12 vote accuse him of isolating Iran with his anti-Western speeches, said the country had the power to send any attacker "to hell".

Presidential candidates

The launch came within hours of Iran's constitutional watchdog approving four leading candidates to stand in the election.

Ahmadinejad will seek re-election alongside moderate challengers Mirhossein Mousavi, Iran's former prime minister, Mehdi Karoubi, the former parliament speaker and Mohsen Rezai, the former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

The four candidates were approved after being screened for their allegiance to Iran's Islamic government system and "absolute obedience" to the country's most senior authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

More than 450 hopefuls had registered out of which 42 were women. No women passed a test to stand in the election.

‘Big trouble’ if Israel Attacks Iran Alone: CIA Chief

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that Israel knew it needed to coordinate its strategy on Iran and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is aware that if Israel were to independently attack Iran it would lead to “big trouble.”

Panetta told political quarterly Global Viewpoint on Monday that it is clear that Israel is concerned about the possibility of Iran producing nuclear weapons, but added that Israel's security would be better served if the government worked together with international powers to “curb the threat”.

Panetta said that the threat posed by Iran "has our full attention," asserting that despite the Obama administration's strategic decision to engage Teheran diplomatically, "no one is naïve about the challenges."

Meanwhile, an Israeli official said that Israel will be forced to take on Iran's contentious nuclear program alone once US President Barack Obama's overture for dialogue with Tehran fails. The official was quoted by Channel 10 as saying that Obama's insistence on engagement with Iran would force Israel to make a "difficult decision" on the matter by the end of 2009.

Panetta continued, "The judgment of the U.S. intelligence community is that Iran, at a minimum, is keeping open the option to develop deliverable nuclear weapons. It is our judgment that Iran halted weaponization in 2003, but it continues to develop uranium enrichment technology and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. The last thing we need in the Middle East is a nuclear arms race."

Iran Could Have Nukes In 1 To 3 Years: Experts

On the other hand, a group of US and Russian scientists and experts said in a report issued Tuesday that Iran could produce a simple nuclear device in one to three years and a nuclear warhead in another five years after that.

They said Iran is also making advances in rocket technology and could develop a ballistic missile capable of firing a 1,000-kilogram (2,200-pound) nuclear warhead up to 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) in perhaps six to eight years.

The EastWest Institute, a nonpartisan organization which focuses on global challenges, said it brought six US experts and six Russian experts together for the first time to produce a joint threat assessment on Iran's nuclear and missile potential. It said key conclusions were presented in February to US National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

The experts' consensus report, issued by the institute said "while Iran is continuing to enrich uranium, it is not clear whether it has taken the decision to produce nuclear weapons."

"It would then be in the range of one to three years...before a nuclear explosive device could be produced," the report said.
While Iran could, perhaps in six or eight years, develop a missile with a nuclear warhead and a 2,000-kilometer (1,200 mile) range - double its longest-range missile at present - the report said it's virtually impossible to predict how long it would take the country to produce a modern intercontinental ballistic missile. Without additional outside technology, the report said it would be at least 10 to 15 years, adding that there is no evidence Iran has decided to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The scientists and experts concluded that there is no imminent threat of Iran firing intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missiles - and if there was such a threat, the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe would not provide a dependable defense against it.

EsinIslam.Com