DATE=7/16/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ISRAEL/IRAN MISSILE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264461
BYLINE=ROSS DUNN
DATELINE=JERUSALEM
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Israel has warned that Iran's successful
testing of a medium-range ballistic missile will
accelerate a deadly arms race in the Middle East.
Ross Dunn reports from Jerusalem that Israel's top
army officer says the Iranian missile program
threatens not only the Jewish state, but also the
entire region.
TEXT: The Israeli army's chief of staff, General
Shaul Mofaz, has expressed strong concerns following
Iran's successful testing of the Shahib-Three missile.
The surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range
of 13-hundred kilometers, making it capable of hitting
targets in Israel.
General Mofaz says Iran also wants to acquire non-
conventional weapons of mass destruction. That
development would make Tehran a threat not only to the
Jewish state, but also to all countries in the Middle
East within range of its missiles.
The Iranian Defense Ministry told Iranian State
television that the Islamic Republic had no intention
of using its missiles to attack other countries.
But this reassurance is not accepted by Israeli and U-
S defense officials.
Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon says Iran's
test of a medium-range missile shows its determination
to build longer-range weapons of mass destruction.
Israeli defense officials predict that Iran will have
nuclear weapons within five-years.
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh says his
country has no choice but to strengthen its own
missile program.
He says Iran has a stated policy of wanting to destroy
the Jewish state, and this means Israel should develop
weapons that are two to three times as advanced as
those possessed by the Islamic Republic. (SIGNED)
NEB/RD/ALW/RAE
16-Jul-2000 08:51 AM EDT (16-Jul-2000 1251 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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