TEHRAN, 9 August 2004 — Iran will soon test a more advanced version of its Shahab-3 missile, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said, the Tehran Times said yesterday.
Shamkhani said the rocket would be tested “not only in range but also in other areas”. The test is necessary so that the country will be prepared for an attack.
Iran has several times warned of a probable attack by the United States or Israel, and Shamkhani said Iran should be prepared for the worst case scenario.
“A society which does not prepare itself for threats will meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein,” the minister was quoted by the daily as saying.
The minister rejected Israeli accusations that its missiles were a threat to Europe, saying Iran’s military strategy was no threat to any country and aimed solely at defensive purposes.
Iran tested the missile in June last year when it was delivered to the armed forces. The medium-range ballistic missile has a range of 1,300 kilometers, meaning it could reach Israel if launched from Iran.
Iran has several times rejected harsh criticism by Tel Aviv on the missile tests and said the tests were the legitimate right of the Islamic state.
The last missile under production in Iran is the Shahab-4, which was, however, solely designed for launching satellites and not for military purposes.
Meanwhile, Tehran has asked the United States to provide information on an Iranian national being held in its Guantanamo Bay prison for allegedly carrying out terrorist acts and helping Al-Qaeda and the Taleban, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
“We have heard about this in the media,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. “We have asked the Swiss Embassy, which acts as the US interest office in Tehran, to give us the necessary information so we are able to take the necessary steps,” he added.
For the first time on Friday, US military authorities confirmed that an Iranian was being held among the 585 Guantanamo Bay detainees.
The US military said the unidentified Iranian had refused to attend a tribunal set to speed up their hearings. Eleven such tribunals have been held but six have been boycotted by the respective defendants.
