Iran harbors ambitions of developing a space program, but is currently concentrating on upgrading and extending the range of its Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 750 miles - capable of reaching Israel, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programs, published by the London-based Guardian on Wednesday.
The 55-page intelligence assessment, dated July 1 2005, draws upon material gathered by British, French, German and Belgian intelligence agencies, the Guardian reported.
| Israel’s Assessment |
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| Army chief: Iran strike not in cards / Ynet |
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Israel is not facing an imminent Iranian threat, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Thursday, but added that circumstances would change should the Islamic republic obtains a nuclear bomb |
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Iranian scientists are said to be building wind tunnels to assist in missile design, developing navigation technology, and acquiring metering and calibration technology, motion simulators and x-ray machines designed to examine rocket parts, according to the assessment.
The next generation of the Shahab ("shooting star" in Persian) should be capable of reaching Austria and Italy, it stated.
'Iran has developed an extensive web of front companies'
The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, and scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian said.
The warning came as Iran raised the stakes in its dispute with the United States and the European Union yesterday by notifying the International Atomic Energy Authority that it intended to resume nuclear fuel research next week
According to the Guardian, the assessment concludes that Syria and Pakistan have also been buying technology and chemicals needed to develop rocket programs and to enrich uranium, and outlines the role played by Russia in the escalating Middle East arms build-up.
The assessment declares that Iran has developed an extensive web of front companies, official bodies, academic institutes and middlemen dedicated to obtaining - in Western Europe and in the former Soviet Union - the expertise, training, and equipment for nuclear programs, missile development, and biological and chemical weapons arsenals.
The document lists scores of Iranian companies and institutions involved in the arms race. It also details Tehran's growing determination to perfect a ballistic missile capable of delivering warheads far beyond its borders.
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