TEHRAN, 8 July 2003 — Iran has conducted a final test of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed yesterday, in a move that brings archenemy Israel well within range of the Islamic republic’s armed forces.
The announcement sparked immediate alarm in Israel, and also came as Iranian leaders dug in on their refusal to allow tougher UN inspections of their civil nuclear program, seen by the United States as a cover for nuclear weapons development.
“The test took place several weeks ago. The range of the missile is what we declared before,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters, adding the test was the final one before the missile was handed over for operation by the country’s army.
Officials here have previously said the missile — based on North Korea’s No-Dong and Pakistan’s Ghauri-II — has a range of 1,300 kilometers. It can reportedly carry a warhead weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. In Farsi, Shahab means “meteor”.
Asefi was reacting to a report in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper last week, which said Iran had conducted the test just over a week ago and was now capable of hitting the Jewish state, American forces in the Gulf or the Indian subcontinent. “This is nothing new,” Asefi said. “Apparently the Israelis are a bit late with their information.”
In Israel, government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP that the Jewish state was “very concerned” at the development. “We are very concerned, especially since we know that Iran is seeking to acquire the nuclear weapon,” he said.
Iran has fiercely denied accusations it has a nuclear weapons program, and asserts its missile development is purely for its own defense. But confirmation of the test came as Iran was set to face more scrutiny over its nuclear program, with International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed El-Baradei set to visit tomorrow to press demands for tougher inspections.
But Asefi again rebuffed mounting international demands to immediately and unconditionally allow tougher UN inspections of its nuclear facilities, asserting instead that drawn-out negotiations may be necessary. “There is no have-to involved. We hope that in negotiations with Mr. El-Baradei, the two sides can cover subjects that allow us to build mutual trust,” he said, adding that “if not, negotiations must continue”.
The IAEA has been urging Iran immediately sign, ratify and implement an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that would allow its teams to conduct surprise inspections of suspect sites. So far the Vienna-based UN body is only allowed to pay prearranged visits to declared sites, but Iran has been urged to open up its nuclear program amid widespread fears it is also seeking to acquire a nuclear arsenal.
Asefi said that for Iran, the additional protocol problem is “not a black and white issue”. “For every problem there is a solution, and for this problem we must negotiate and we are fully ready to listen,” he told reporters. In June, El-Baradei said the Islamic republic had not fully respected the NPT by failing to inform the IAEA of some of its nuclear activities.
