| July 10, 2008
Iran test-fired more weapons on Thursday as it continued
maneuvers one day after it test-fired its Shahab-3 longer range
missile, whose range includes Israel and US bases in the Gulf,
and eight other more medium range missiles.
State television said the
weapons fired in the Gulf by the naval section of the elite
Revolutionary Guards included shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface
and sea-to-air missiles.
It said the war games also
included the firing of the Hoot (Whale) torpedo that Iran
unveiled in April 2006 which it described then as a super-fast
weapon capable of hitting enemy submarines.
As part of its defense strategy, the US would deploy an Aegis
system off Israel's coast to provide another layer of defense
against Iranian ballistic missiles. US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the United States, Israel's
closest ally, was prepared to defend its interests and allies
from any Iranian threat.
"We will defend American interests and the interests of our
allies. We take very strongly our obligation to defend our
allies and we intend to do that," Rice said.
On Wednesday, Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range
missiles during maneuvers that officials said aimed to show that
the country could retaliate against any U.S. or Israeli attack.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards'
air forces, said "our hands are always on the trigger and our
missiles are ready for launch," the official IRNA news agency
quoted him as saying.
Salami also said on Iranian television that a Shahab-3
long-range ballistic missile had been tested, and is capable of
traveling longer distances with greater accuracy and with a
larger payload.
Israel Undermines Iran Missile Test
On the other hand, Israeli
experts said the missile launched as part of large-scale
military exercise in Iran is not a more capable version of the
Shahab-3 ballistic missile. Uzi Rubin, who was a program
director of Homa, under which Israel developed the Arrow
anti-missile system, is convinced that this was not a new
version of the Iranian ballistic missile.
"From what I saw, this is an old version of the Shahab-3, and
contrary to their claims, it is not capable of reaching 2,000
kilometers, only 1,300 kilometers," he said on Wednesday.
But Dr. Nathan Farber of the Technion in Haifa says that the
Iranians are in the process of developing a more advanced
version of the Shahab missile, known as the Ashura, with a range
of 2,000 km. According to Farber's assessment, the new missile
uses solid propellants, which makes it easier to launch,
although unlike the Shahab-3, its flight time to Israel is
estimated at 14 minutes, compared to 11 of the older missile.
According to the Israeli media, Intelligence analysts estimate
that Iran has several hundred Shahab-3 in its arsenal, but a
much larger stockpile, of several thousand shorter range
missiles (up to 400 km).
Israel Holds Large Scale Air Force Exercise
In Israel, even though the heads
of the defense establishment do not often detail in public their
preparations for a possible Iranian strike, a large-scale air
force exercise, comprising approximately 100 aircraft, carried
out a sortie to a distance of 1,500 kilometers over the
Mediterranean - the same distance from Israel to some of Iran's
nuclear installations in Isfahan.
The air armada included fighters, aerial tankers, electronic
warfare aircraft, and search and rescue helicopters.
On a number of occasions in recent months, Israeli officials
stressed the need to bolster the "long arm" of the Israeli
forces through the air force. Israel has asked the U.S. to
consider moving forward the delivery date for advanced strike
aircraft.
In parallel, Israel is preparing to carry out significant
upgrades to the Arrow anti-missile system. The Arrow-3, which is
funded in a multi-year program entitled Tefen, will be capable
of intercepting ballistic missiles higher and further away from
Israel.
Moreover, the Zionist entity on Thursday will exhibit an
advanced aircraft it says is capable of spying on Iran.
State-run Israel Aerospace Industries has planned an in-house
exhibit Thursday of its Eitam airplane, unveiled a year ago and
equipped with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems.
America To Deploy Missile Defense System Off
Israel's Coast
Consequently, the US Navy
recently held an unprecedented exercise testing the
communications network supporting its Aegis missile defense
system across the Middle East. The test took place on the
weekend of June 28 while Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of
Staff Adm. Michael Mullen was in Israel for talks with Israeli
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.
The communications test, revealed in the Navy Times, involved
ships deployed in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.
Defense officials have said that in the event of a conflict with
Tehran it was possible that the US would deploy an Aegis system
off Israel's coast to provide another layer of defense against
Iranian ballistic missiles. By 2009, the US Navy will have 18
cruisers and destroyers with operational Aegis systems that are
capable of tracking ballistic missiles and intercepting them
with ship-launched SM-3 missiles. -- Al-Manaar TV |
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