DATE=2/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN-U-S (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259679
BYLINE=JIM RANDLE
DATELINE=PENTAGON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The general who commands all U-S troops in the
Middle East says even though Iranian voters have
elected a reform-minded majority in parliament, Iran
is still the biggest threat facing Americans in the
region. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports.
TEXT: Four-star U-S Marine General Anthony Zinni says
Iran's recent election was `good news' that may
eventually move Teheran into a less confrontational
relationship with Washington.
But General Zinni tells the Senate Armed Services
Committee that `hard-liners' still control Iran's
intelligence services, which support terrorist groups.
He says hard line factions also still run Iran's
military, and its programs to develop weapons of mass
destruction and the missiles needed to deliver them.
/// ZINNI ACT ///
They continue to pursue, obviously, missiles
with greater range and greater accuracy. We
expect to see shortly tests of missiles like the
Shahab three.
/// END ACT ///
Military experts say the Shahab Three is a medium-
range ballistic missile that can carry a 700-kilogram
warhead about 13-hundred kilometers. That means it
could reach targets in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,
Iraq, many Gulf States, Russia, India, and Pakistan.
General Zinni says he hopes moderates continue to make
political gains and that the various political
factions in Iran can work out their differences in a
peaceful way.
But he says the weapons programs may make Iran a
`real' threat in the near future.(Signed).
NEB/jr/gm
29-Feb-2000 15:55 PM EDT (29-Feb-2000 2055 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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