Iran Boasts it Can Mass-Produce Shahab-3 Missile

Nov. 9, 2004
Space War

Iran is capable of mass-producing the Shahab-3, a ballistic missile capable of hitting Israel, Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani said Tuesday.

"We are presently able to mass-produce the Shahab-3, just like we do with the Paykan," the minister was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA.

The Paykan is Iran's ubiquitous national car which has been mass-produced in the country for decades.

"We have mastered the technology and we have no limits on the volume of the production," Shamkhani was also quoted as saying by state television.

"My task consists of developing defence capabilities, and we have passed our objecctives," the rear admiral added.

Iran has recently upgraded the Shahab-3 ballistic missile -- believed to be based on a North Korean design -- and some officials have said it now has a range of at least 2,000 kilometres (about 1,200 miles).

Previous figures had put the missile's range at between 1,300 and 1,700 kilometres, already bringing arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the region well within range.

Steady progress made by Iran on its ballistic missile programme is a major cause for concern for the international community, already alarmed over the country's nuclear activities.

Many diplomats argue see the ballistic missile programme as proof of a nuclear weapons drive, although Iran insists its missiles are merely a deterrent and conventional in nature.

Shamkhani also denied that Iran was interested in developing a missile capable of reaching Europe, something Iran's regional arch-enemy Israel has warned of.

"The Zionist regime want people to believe that we are a threat to Europe, but we do not feel threatened by Europe and do not see the necessity," Shamkhani was quoted as saying by ISNA.

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