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.

[darrels joy]

U.S. to continue funding Israel anti-missile system

By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Arrow anti-ballistic missile

The United States will continue funding Israel's Arrow anti-ballistic missile system, U.S. defense officials decided during their annual strategic dialogue at the Pentagon this week. Israeli defense officials have recently been concerned that cuts in the U.S. defense budget, along with Pentagon unwillingness to fund a project that does not employ American workers, could harm the future of the Arrow. The Arrow III - which is expected to have the capability of intercepting a ballistic missile at an early stage of its flight path, allowing for the possibility of more attempts at interception if the first one fails - is under development, but without U.S. funding, it would have been difficult to continue developing the missile system upgrade. Top Israeli defense officials were informed last month by their American counterparts that there were no plans underway to cut funding for the Arrow system, but the announcement on Wednesday has confirmed continuation of the project. The announcement was made just hours Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran has successfully test-fired a new advanced missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel and southeastern Europe as well as U.S. bases in the Gulf. Israel's successful test last month of the upgraded Arrow II anti-ballistic missile system made defense officials hopeful that the United States would continue funding the system, which is designed to defend against possible ballistic missile attacks by Iran and Syria. That Arrow missile test intercepted a Blue Sparrow missile simulating the flight path of an Iranian Shahab-3 ballistic missile over the Mediterranean. It was the first test of an upgraded Arrow missile combined with new radar - the X-band radar the United States installed in the Negev nine months ago - and a new command and control system.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1086938.html

[SEATJERKER]

...

...They do push it, and Israel blows them right off the map, and the rest of the sand fleas go with them,...

...here comes WWIII,...

...

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – The missile test-fired by Iran is the longest-range solid-propellent missile it has launched yet, a U.S. government official said Wednesday, raising concerns about whether the sophistication of Tehran's missile program is increasing.

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss technical details of Iran's missile program, said Tehran has demonstrated shorter-range solid-propellent missiles in the past.

Solid-propellent rockets are a concern because they can be fueled in advance and moved or hidden in silos, the official said. Liquid-propellent rockets have to be fueled and fired quickly, which makes preparations for launches easier to monitor and would allow a preemptive strike if necessary.

But according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who Wednesday provided the first official U.S. confirmation of the Iranian launch, the Iranian missile had a range of 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers.

That translates to 1,200 to 1,500 miles, putting Israel, U.S. bases in the Mideast, and parts of Eastern Europe within striking distance.

"The information that I have read indicates that it was a successful flight test," Gates told the House Appropriations Committee nearly eight hours after the test was announced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Gates added that "because of some of the problems they've had with their engines we think at least at this stage of the testing we think it's probably closer to the lower end of that range. Whether it hit the target that it was intended for, I have not seen any information on that."

U.S. officials said that government analysts and other specialists were still assessing information from the launch.

"Obviously, that's concerning," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said of the launch.

Iran's launch 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. Obama said earlier this week that Tehran had until the end of the year to show it wanted to engage with Washington.

But both U.S. government officials and independent American missile experts said Wednesday that the Iranian missile itself did not appear to be a new model.

Charles Vick, a senior technical analyst for GlobalSecurity.org, analyzed photos and videotape of the launch released by Iran.

"I'm not all that impressed," Vick said. "It's just another test that confirms they've got the system that was operational last summer."

"Obviously, we've seen reports," Gibbs said. "You all know the concerns that the president has about Iran's missile development programs .... and the strong belief that the pursuit of those programs does not strengthen the security of Iran but instead make them less safe."

"Obviously, the president has been long concerned about it," he said. Gibbs noted that Obama and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "both agreed on Monday that engaging the people and the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, something that hasn't been tried for the past many years, is something that makes sense."

Some dozen hours after the test was reportedly conducted, 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.

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

But Clinton did discuss the subject generally, saying that a nuclear-armed Iran would "spark an arms race" in the Middle East.

She referred to a host of threats to the United States that she said are "daunting." And Clinton reiterated that the 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."

In a breakfast meeting with reporters, Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy spoke in general terms about Iran's missile program, saying that the Iranian efforts pose "a security threat to the region that we will have to, probably, to deal with it."

Flournoy said the administration is trying to present Iran with "a very fundamental choice between staying on the current path they are on, which I think is only going to hamper their security in the long term ... versus taking another path where if they were to reject support for terrorism and extremism, reject nuclear weapons, they could actually be on a path that would do a lot more for their ultimate security."

Trita Parsi, President and Founder of the National Iranian American Council, said Wednesday that the launch only complicates Obama's efforts to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program and bring stability to the Mideast.

"With Israel pressing for short deadlines for diplomacy followed by sanctions and military action, with Iran testing additional missiles and continuing its tough talk, the Obama administration's best friend in this process will be patience and endurance," Parsi said.

[Boats]

I totally agree with you - its way over due and these folks are in for a big surprise.