Iranian Officials Confirm Final Test of Shihab-3 Long-Range Missile

July 7, 2003

TEHRAN - Iran has conducted a final test on a long-range, surface-to-surface missile capable of reaching arch-enemy Israel, Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed Monday. News of the test was first published in Haaretz on Friday.

"It happened a few weeks ago, it was a delivery test. The missile has the same range we announced before," spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. Asked to clarify what he meant by "delivery test", he said: "It was the final test".

The Shihab-3 ballistic missile, first tested in 1998, has a range of 1,300 km (800 miles). It is based on the North Korean Nodong-1 missile but has been improved with Russian technology.

The test comes as UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei prepares to visit Tehran this week to seek clarification of Iran's nuclear program. The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear arms, a charge Tehran strongly denies. It says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes and its missiles are for deterrence only.

Both the United States and Israel also accuse Iran of backing armed Palestinian groups responsible for suicide bombings against Israeli targets. Iran has publicly refused to acknowledge the right of the Jewish state to exist, although officials have recently said they would not oppose a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Palestinians backed it.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/315442.html