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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
MM's Defense minister sez Iran's Shihab-3 can deliver a nuke
2005-08-13
From Geostragegy-direct, subscription req'd.
Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said the enhanced Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile could strike targets at distances of nearly 2,000 kilometers. He also said the missile could deliver a weapons of mass destruction payload.
That should be a confidence builder for the EU3 negotiators, heh. Al Kaboomi is playing them like fishes.
It's not like they built it for space exploration.
It was the first time a senior Iranian official claimed Teheran had achieved nuclear weapons capability. Israeli intelligence and U.S. intelligence have sought to determine when Iran would reach self-sufficiency in nuclear weapons.
And the US and Israel intelligence agencies are playing their cards close.
Shamkhani, who has said he would soon step down from his post, was quoted by Radio Farda as saying that the liquid-fuel Shihab could also be fitted with a nuclear warhead. Iran could strike any Israeli or U.S. base in the Middle East, he said.
With the result that Teheran would turn to radioactive dust and glass as a finale.
The Iranian foreign minister scoffed yesterday that the U.S. was the only country who had used nuclear weapons in war. I think he missed the point.
On Aug. 2, the Washington Post reported that a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, ordered in January 2005, has doubled the previous assessment of five years required for Iranian production of nuclear weapons. The Post said the latest U.S. estimate concluded that Iran would need between seven to 10 years to produce a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium, a key element in nuclear weapons production.
And where, pray tell, did the WaPo get their estimate? The Iranians have the designs already. They just need the fissile material. Bushehr will supply the Pu and the underground centrifuges will provide the U235. Proxies will move and spot the bombs.ABC-123
Israel, on the other hand, believes Iran could produce nuclear weapons by 2008.
I think that it is a lot sooner than that.
Shamkhani said the Shihab-3 had a range of 1,930 kilometers, a major increase from the previous version of the missile, which had a range of 1,300 kilometers. Officials said the Shihab had been enhanced with the development of a solid-fuel engine. Over the past two years Iran achieved self-sufficiency in developing solid-fuel missile propellants. Shamkhani said a solid-fuel engine would enhance the accuracy of the Shihab and would bolster Iranian deterrence.
Meanwhile, the EU3 are getting b*tch-slapped around in negotiations with the MMs and look like fools. The MMs are playing a giant game of chicken. They know that they can run over the EUniks. They think that they can run over the US and Israel. Ball is in our court on this one. Iran is doing everything that it can to drive the US out of Iraq. They are providing aid to terrorists both in Syria and across the border. They are using nuclear blackmail as a tool. Maybe they need a crimp in their oil production to send a diplomatic message via their economy. I see black ops in my crystal ball.
Posted by:Alaska Paul

#5  So could Saddam's improved nuke-capable FROG battlefield rockets - you know, the weapons which like captured SARIN and MUSTARD GAS stocks showed Saddam did not have WMDS! Its not the Left's fault no one understood they meant nukes only when they used the label "WMDS" - its their definitions and precepts that matter, not anybody else's - you know, "working together" and "non-partisanship". like good anti-Elitism Elitists!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2005-08-13 22:53  

#4  But can it deliver a pizza in 30 minutes or less?
Posted by: Fun Dung Poo   2005-08-13 17:38  

#3  The MM's have not thought this through. We have a good chance at defending against ICBMs and will certainly know where it came from. Iran goes glass if they use a missile. No one used nukes in the cold war for a reason.

But the terrorist delivery system is much more effective, especially where it will never be clear if it came from Iran, Pakistan, or Korea.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-08-13 12:03  

#2  Notice to Iranian mullahs:
The Jew rockets can also reach Iran. Unlike Iranian ones, the Israelis warheads will actually work and can end the Persian civilization (what is left of it after Islamization).

Posted by: john   2005-08-13 11:10  

#1  They are definately swinging their sausage around and letting everyone know that they have rockets that will reach our troops, at the same time restarting their nuke program and thumbing their nose at us and Israel. So what are us crackers going to do about it?
Posted by: Slerese Thaique5363   2005-08-13 01:27  

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