IRANIAN MISSILE PROGRAM STILL DEPENDS ON RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE
ISRAEL LINE, JULY 29, 1998
A security source said on Tuesday that if Russia stops providing
technological aid to the Iranian missile program, the Shihab-3 missile
program will not reach its intended level of development, HA'ARETZ reported.
"If Russian aid to Iran is not halted, a prototype missile will be ready
in about a year," the source said. He said that the Russians seem
unimpressed by the moderate pressure placed on them by the United States to
stop helping the Iranians, and there are no signs that they intend to stop.
According to the source, last week's trial launch would not have occurred
without massive Russian aid to the Iranian missile industry.
The source said that Iran is working to develop a long-range strategic
capability, and that the completion of the missile will enable it to obtain
the capacity to launch a first-strike at Israel.
In response to the question of whether Israel is the "stated threat"
against which the Iranian missile program is aimed, he said, "Israel is a
target, if not the only one. The missile is not intended for Iran's
defense. The Iranians already have Scud B and Scud C defensive rockets,
which have a shorter range. Iran seeks to be a regional power and sees
itself as being committed to defend the interests of the Arab and Muslim
worlds."
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