Iran Can Mass Produce Shahab
November 9, 2004 :: BBC :: News
Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani today announced that Iran is now capable of mass producing its Shahab-3 ballistic missile. “We are presently able to mass-produce the Shahab-3, just like we do with the Paykan,” the minister said, referring to Iran’s ubiquitous national automobile.
Shamkhani said that Iran had mastered the necessary technology, and that there were no limits on production. Shamkhani denied that Iran would be developing a longer range missile, and that current increases in range (to 2,000km) were for the purpose of being able to fire it from anywhere in Iran. “These are Zionist words and their intention is to suggest Iran is seeking to threaten Europe…We don’t feel any threat from Europe and we don’t see the need to invest in this field.” (More »»»)
» More stories on: Iran
» Missile details: Shahab 3, Shahab 4
Iran Again Tests Shahab-3
October 20, 2004 :: AFP :: News
Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani announced that Iran had today again tested an upgraded version of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile, in the presence of observers. Shamkhani would not comment on the specific range or the location of the test, but Iran has previously claimed that the “strategic” missile has a range of 2,000km; Iran’s IRNA news agency last month quoted former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani that Iran possessed that capability. Such a range not only threatens Israel, but also U.S. bases in the region and parts of Europe. Rafsanjani also commented at the time, “Experts know that a country that possesses this [range] can obtain all subsequent stages in missile production.”
On October 7, Nasser Maleki, the deputy director of Iran’s aerospace industry organization, commented that “Very certainly we are going to improve our Shahab-3 and all of our other missiles.”
Iran’s ballistic missile development has been steady, and not without foreign help. The recent upgrades to the Shahab-3 are believed to be due in part to Chinese assistance, including a more accurate guidance system and an improved warhead more suited to carryign chemical weapons. Hours after today’s test, the Moscow News carried a piece boasting that the Iranian Shahab-3, and the North Korean No-Dong from which it was partly derived, both employ Russian missile technology. (Article, Link)
» Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acquiring greater control
» Oct. 20: Moscow News: Russian missile tech used for Iranian, North Korean advances
» More stories on: Iran, North Korea, Proliferation, Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Shahab 3, Shahab 4
Iraq Nuclear Sites Systematically Dismantled
October 15, 2004 :: CNN :: News
The Associated Press and other news agencies have reported that a number of Iraqi nuclear sites show evidence of having been systematically emptied, and their materials removed. The removal apparently took place even after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and continued through 2004.
The Duelfer report, released last week, also suggested that large quantities of materials, possibly weapons of mass destruction related, had gone to Syria before the war began.
These revelations again point to the possibility that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction did in fact exist, and may yet be found. But their removal serves to significantly undermine the rationale for the war, and the impetus for future preemptive strikes against, for example, Iran and North Korea.
News of the removal comes alongside the annoucement that the Russian-supported nuclear reactor in Iran is now complete. (Article, Link)
» Oct. 14, 2004: Iran nuclear reactor now complete
» More stories on: Iran, Iraq, Nuclear Weapons
Iran Deploys Scud Missiles on Ships
October 14, 2004 :: Middle East Newsline :: News
Citing U.S. officials, Middle East Newsline today reports that Iran has deployed a number of short-range and medium-range Scud ballistic missiles aboard cargo vessels, and equipped them to be launched from the ships. The ships are said to be stationed in the northern Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. The officials also said that Iran began deployment of ship-based missiles in 1997, and that several such vessels are already so equipped. (Link)
» Aug. 18, 2004: Rumsfeld again warns of danger by ship launched missile
» Oct. 24, 2002: Wolfowitz warns of ship launched threat
» Oct. 21, 2004: Rumsfeld on rogue state test of ship-launched missile
» More stories on: Iran, Ship-Launched Threat
» Missile details: Scud B variant, Scud C variant
Iran: Missiles Can Now Hit Europe
October 6, 2004 :: News
Iran is increasing its already much-publicized claims for its Shahab-3 and Shahab-4 missiles, which it continues to test and upgrade. This past week, Iran reported again that the Shahab-4 missile has a range of some 2,000 km, and that parts of Europe are now within range. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran
» Missile details: Shahab 3, Shahab 4
Khamenei Gives 2-Nuke Religious Quota
September 30, 2004 :: Geostrategy-Direct :: News
Geostrategy-Direct cites a U.S. official as saying that the Ayatollah Khamenei has told a gathering of Iran’s senior military and government officials that the production of at least two nuclear weapons is a religious duty. Khamenei is cited as saying that, “We must have two bombs ready to go in January or you are not Muslims.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Nuclear Weapons
Superpower Proliferation to Iran: Seven Chinese Companies Sanctioned; Three from Former Soviet Union
September 27, 2004 :: Washington Times :: News
The State Department imposed sanctions on fourteen firms or individuals today for illicit proliferation, seven of which were on Chinese companies. The Chinese companies were sanctioned for the proliferation of unconventional weapons and missile technology to Iran.
In addition, one Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian companies were also sanctioned, as well as one from North Korea. Each of these entities was charged with selling materials to Iran.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher commented on the Chinese companies that “There was credible evidence that these entities had transferred one of several categories of items to Iran” since January 1999. “That would be equipment listed on multilateral export lists, items that have a potential of making a contribution to weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missiles.” (More »»»)
» VOA: Fourteen firms or individuals sanctioned
» Sep. 29, 2004: 100 tons of S. Korean dual-use sodium cyanide reached N. Korea by way of China
» More stories on: China, Iran, North Korea, Proliferation, Russia
U.S. Sanctions Chinese Firm Proliferating WMD Technology
September 21, 2004 :: News
The U.S. State Department has ordered sanctions on the Chinese state-owned company, Xinshidai, for proliferating material and technical expertise useful to produce weapons of mass destruction. A U.S. official is quoted as saying that Xinshidai “provided material assistance to a country for programs capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction,” but did not name the country to which they sold such materials.
On August 23, The Washington Times reported transfer of missile technology from China to Iran.
Such reports only confirm that the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction to so-called “rogue regimes” is a problem which must be seen within the bigger picture of superpower politics. Russia and China indisputably remain the real sources of such proliferation, and the primary, strategic, threats to the United States. (Article, Link)
» Aug. 23: China selling missile technology to Iran
» More stories on: China, Iran, Proliferation
Iran Parades Ballistic Missiles
September 21, 2004 :: News
Iran paraded its Shahab-3 and other missiles today, draped by a number of anti-American slogans and banners. The banner comments included “crush America,” “wipe Israel off the map,” and “We will crush America under our feet.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran
» Missile details: Shahab 3
Iran Tests “Strategic,” Medium, and Short-Range Missiles
September 20, 2004 :: News
Iran announced that it tested a missile with a “strategic” range on September 19th. The test which was witnessed by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, included a version of the Shahab-3 missile capable of carrying a one ton nuclear warhead. The Shahab-3 had been previously tested on August 11. The Israeli Haaretz newspaper has recently stated that the upgraded version of the Shahab-3 had a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,280 miles), much more than the previously estimates of 1,300 to 1,700 kilometers. In addition, unidentified short- and medium-range missiles were also said to have been test launched. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Shahab 3
