Iran says it tests missile, Israel within range

[David]

AP


TEHRAN, Iran – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran test-fired a new advanced missile Wednesday with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel, southeastern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East.

The announcement will not reassure the U.S. government, coming just two days after President Barack Obama declared a readiness to seek deeper international sanctions against Iran if it shunned U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Obama said he expected a positive response to his outreach for opening a dialogue with Iran by the end of the year.

"Defense Minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar) has informed me that the Sajjil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target," state radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He spoke during a visit to the city of Semnan, 125 miles east of the capital Tehran, where Iran's space program is centered.

Ahmadinejad is running for re-election in a June 12 vote and has been criticized by his opponents and others for antagonizing the U.S. and mismanaging the country's faltering economy.

Most Western analysts believe Iran does not yet have the technology to produce nuclear weapons, including warheads for long-range missiles. A group of U.S. and Russian scientists 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.

The study published by the nonpartisan EastWest Institute also said Iran is making advances in rocket technology and could develop a ballistic missile capable of firing a 2,200-pound nuclear warhead up to 1,200 miles "in perhaps six to eight years."

Iran says its missile program is merely for defense and its space program is for scientific and surveillance purposes. It maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian energy uses only.

The solid-fuel Sajjil-2 surface-to-surface missile is a new version of the Sajjil missile, which Iran said it had successfully tested late last year with a similar range.

Iran's nuclear and missile programs have alarmed Israel, and the country's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pressed Obama to step up pressure on Tehran when the two met in Washington on Monday. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel's elimination, and the Jewish state has not ruled out a military strike to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.

[Boats]

I think Iran is pushing and sending all the wrong signals. They are going to procrastinate the Israel' s into doing something. Obama is trying to qualm the issue but they are really coming close to taking out their nuke facilities and I really don't blame them.

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – U.S. government officials were unusally tight-lipped about Iran's missile test Wednesday as they worked to study details of the launch.

Two officials confirmed the launch had taken place, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the record.

"It appears the test was a success," one official said. "It appears they launched a medium-range missile."

The U.S. officials said they were trying to determine the missile's range, trajectory and other details.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the launch was a successful test-firing of a new advanced missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, capable of reaching Israel and U.S. Mideast bases.

The announcement comes less than a month before Iran's presidential election and just two days after President Barack Obama declared a readiness to seek deeper international sanctions against Tehran if it did not respond positively to U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program.

Some dozen hours after the test, numerous U.S. defense and intelligence officials declined to even acknowledge the Iranian launch had occurred. Some referred calls to the White House and State Department, a sign of how politically sensitive the development is to the Obama administration and its continuing efforts to deal with Iran's reported efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm the launch but said the U.S. is aware of Iran's pursuit of ballistic missiles.

"Our concerns are obviously based on nuclear ambitions and the implications that long- and medium-range missiles have with respect to that," Whitman told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

He added: "Iran is at a bit of a crossroads. They have a choice to make. They can either continue on this path of continued destabilization in the region or they can decide that they want to pursue relationships with the counties in the region and the United States that are more normalized."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, apppearing Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, also said nothing about the Iranian launch when Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) raised the issue during questioning.

But Clinton did cite the issue generally, saying that a nuclear-armed Iran is "going to spark an arms race" in the Middle East.

Without commenting directly on the missile launch reports, Clinton referred Wednesday to a host of threats to the United States that she said are "daunting."

Clinton reiterated that the Obama administration opposes Iran getting a nuclear weapons capability and that it is relying for now on diplomatic pressure to stop it.

She described a nuclear capability as an "extraordinary threat." And Clinton said that the U.S. goal is "to persuade the Iranian regime that they will actually be less secure if they proceed with their nuclear weapons program."

[reconeil]

Israelis have absolutely nothing to be concerned about, since both quite articulate and/or exceptionally very well versed (can usually excuse even most absurd) President Barak Hussein Obama II or Jr. & Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have everything TOTALLY under control.

Sooooooooooooo,..."Vhat's to Vorry Benji Baby or Mr. Netanyahu"?
Slick & Cool: "His Barackness" & his International Specialist Hillary both gotcha covered.

WOW!!!,...and also believe I'm actually Barney Franks' personal: "Tooth Fairy"!!!

Neil

[Arrow]

Heatin' up!

[82Rigger]

As I understand it, Israel has informed Ahmadinejad that Iran has been within range of Israeli nukes for a number of decades now.