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.”
In response to Shamhkani’s announcement, an Israeli security source was quoted by Reuters as saying that, “We expected this development, and have deployed accordingly,” referring to Israel’s deployment of the Arrow II missile defense interceptor. Israel, parts of Europe, and U.S. troops in the region are within range of the 2,000km range Shahab-3.
A subsequent, November 10, report by Middle East Newsline discussed Iran’s recent launches in light of the specific engine capabilities for the Shahab missile. The Newsline cites “a senior Western intelligence analyst” as saying that “Iran has obtained the expertise and equipment to produce variants of North Korean engines for the Shihab-3…Teheran has sought this capability for a long time and we believe they have achieved it.” Iran is said to have acquired some 20 North Korean liquid-fuel engines, but with additional help from China and North Korea over the last 18 months, have achieved the ability to produce the engines indigenously. (Article)
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