05.10.2004, 18:09
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Zitat:Iran says it now has missile with 2,000 km range
Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - ©2004 IranMania.com
Iran now has ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles), powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the state news agency IRNA.
"Today, we have the power to send our missiles up to 2,000 kilometres, and experts know that once a country has made such a step, all further steps are accessible," Rafsanjani said at a conference on "Space and National Security".
Steady progress made by Iran's ballistic missile programme is a source of concern to the international community, adding to worries about the country's nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are peaceful.
On August 11, Iran tested an upgraded version of its Shahab-3 missile. Previous figures had put the missile's range at between 1,300 and 1,700 kilometres, already bringing arch-enemy Israel well within range.
Following the latest test, Israeli news reports put the range of the new Shahab-3 -- believed to be based on a North Korean design -- at 2,000 kilometres.
"We have today the ballistic technology and if we had not limited our progress, we would have been even more advanced," Rafsanjani said.
"With this ballistic power, we can today speak of an independent satellite launch and we should seek the technology to make our own satellites," he added, saying Iran "was at the door of the club of country's having satellite technology."
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