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"Duck and cover." Iranian President Ahmadinejad adjusts his earphones at a conference in Kuala Lumpur
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners March 3, 2006 |
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Israel's Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile system is able to destroy any incoming Iranian missile attack, including a nuclear assault, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday, citing an unnamed "high-ranking officer" in the Israeli military.
The officer said the latest upgrade of the U.S.-Israeli developed Arrow could intercept Iran's top-of-the-line Shihab 3 missile at such high altitude that even if it were carrying a nuclear payload there would be no ground casualties.
Appearing before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Brig.-Gen. Ilan Bitton -- head of Israel's Air Defense Forces -- said that while the Arrow was highly effective against the Scud missiles that make up most of Syria's arsenal, it "needed improvement" to face the challenges posed by Iran's Shihab-3, the Post reported.
Recent Improvements to the Arrow, he said, explaining the new confidence, and it was now able to detect even a missile carrying a split warhead and armed with decoys meant to fool the anti-missile system.
Israeli concern about Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes but which Israel says is aimed at weapons production, have been heightened in recent months by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls to wipe Israel "off the map."
Iran has ramped up its production of missiles capable of carrying atomic warheads, a key opposition figure said Thursday, a day before European officials were to meet Tehran's top nuclear negotiator for more talks on Iran's uranium enrichment ambitions.
A diplomat, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue, said the Vienna meeting had been requested by Iran.
He emphasized the Europeans would not compromise on their demand that Iran give up all uranium enrichment on home soil -- a demand also contained in an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution that reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council last month.
It was unclear if Iran was bringing new initiatives to the table. But a letter from the foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany -- whose representatives were meeting Friday with Iran's Ali Larijani -- laid out European demands.
For the meeting to be productive, the letter said, Iran must give a clear commitment to return immediately to "full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related ... activity." The letter, dated Feb. 27 and shared in part with The Associated Press, also demanded that Iran recommit to allowing the IAEA pervasive, short-notice inspections of its nuclear activities, after withdrawing such rights last month.
Diplomats who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the meeting said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw would not attend as scheduled because he was running a high fever. Britain instead would be represented by a senior Foreign Office official, and France and Germany by their foreign ministers, they said.
The meeting comes at a crucial time _ just three days before the IAEA's 35-nation board meets again. What the U.N. watchdog agency recommends to the U.N. Security Council will likely help determine the council's action on Iran. The council has the power to impose sanctions.
The council's involvement reflects the level of concern surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions. Tehran insists it wants enrichment only to generate electricity and that it does not seek nuclear arms, but a growing number of nations share U.S. fears that that is not the case.
U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte told lawmakers Wednesday in Washington that the risk of Iran acquiring nuclear arms and merging them with ballistic missile systems was "a reason for immediate concern."
Providing what he said Thursday were secret details of those missile programs, Iranian opposition figure Alireza Jafarzadeh told the AP that Iran had "significantly increased the production line" of its Shahab 3 missiles last year, and was now turning out 90 a year -- more than four times its previous production rate.
The most advanced Shahab has a range of 1,900 kilometers (nearly 1,200 miles), he said. That is enough to target arch-foe Israel.
Working together with North Korean experts at the Hemmat Missile Industries complex in Tehran, Iranian engineers also were "70-percent" finished on prototype Ghadar 101 and Ghadar 110 missiles, which have a range of up to 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles), he said, putting central Europe within reach. These missiles also were "ready for launch" within 30 minutes, compared to several hours for the Shahab, he said.
There was no independent confirmation of the information, which Jafarzadeh said he received from sources inside Iran.
Jafarzadeh, who heads the Washington-based Strategic Policy Consulting think tank, helped reveal what was then Iran's clandestine nuclear program three years ago. In January he divulged details of Iran's enrichment plans, which were confirmed a few days ago by the IAEA.
Meetings that started in 2004 between the Iranians and Europeans failed to find common ground on enrichment, leading to a chain of events that resulted in the IAEA board reporting Tehran to the council Feb. 4.
In exchange for backing that move, however, Russia and China -- which have strong political and economic ties to Iran -- insisted the council wait for the results of Monday's IAEA board meeting before taking any action.
A European official suggested France, Britain and Germany had agreed to a final meeting with Iran's negotiator before the IAEA board meeting to dispel any notion that Europe was not interested in a negotiated solution.
"We are in a listening mode -- nothing more," the official said by telephone from outside Vienna.
Larijani was flying to Vienna from Moscow, after the latest round of talks there on moving Iran's enrichment program to Russian soil.
Those talks ended Thursday with no announcement of progress, as Iran again insisted on doing at least some enrichment at home. Larijani called for talks on the Russian proposal to continue, however.
"America is lying, trying to destroy the Russian proposal," he told reporters in Moscow. "The Americans' insistence on handing over the Iranian nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council means the destruction of the Russian proposal."
Larijani said his team had put forward a "package proposal" while in Moscow, and denied that the discussions had ended in failure. "We need to give diplomats time to look at it."
A Russian nuclear agency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, confirmed the Moscow talks had snagged over Iran's refusal to freeze enrichment.
"They are ready in principle to accept our proposal, but we don't want to discuss it separately" from the need for Iran to return to the moratorium, the official said.
The Russian plan -- backed by most in the international community including the U.S. and the Europeans -- is meant to deprive the Iranians of domestic control of all enrichment, which can produce both nuclear fuel or the fissile material of nuclear warheads.
Iran restarted some enrichment activities last month, after voluntarily freezing the program during the talks with the Europeans that failed.
Iran's president warns that "bullying" West and Zionists will fall
Iran's hardline president on Friday warned that bullying Western powers and Zionists will fall soon, saying Muslims can no longer tolerate their tyranny and harassment.
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said the root cause of challenges faced by the Muslim world can be found in the "hegemonic tendencies" of certain bullying powers, a clear reference to the United States and Europe.
"But domination and bullying will not last much longer. Bullies and Zionists beware, you are going to fall," Ahmedinejad said in a public lecture in Kuala Lumpur on the last day of a three-day official visit.
Ahmedinejad appeared to use "Zionists" as a sweeping reference to Israel and Jews. He did not talk about overthrowing the government of Israel or attacking it, and his comments appeared to be rhetorical bluster against a nation he has said in the past has no right to exist.
Ahmedinejad, a former Teheran mayor who took office last June with the backing of the country's hardline clergy, is in Malaysia to win support for his country's program from Malaysia's leaders.
On Thursday, Ahmedinejad said Iran wold not surrender its "inalienable rights" to have nuclear power, as officials prepared to hold talks with the European Union to defuse the nuclear crisis.
The IAEA board of governors is set to meet Monday to discuss the issue and could refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council. The council has the power to impose sanctions.
He did not refer to the meeting with the EU but said the IAEA's treatment of Iran was "politically motivated."
Much of his speech was a diatribe against the "Zionists."
"Western governments are paying -- out of their nation's personal incomes and the government treasury -- to the Zionist regime," said Ahmedinejad.
"The citizens of Western countries without being consulted are footing the bill. The control of Zionists over a number of Western countries is so far reaching that their government cannot even take a political decision that is contrary to the Zionist will."
But he said nations were becoming increasingly aware of the situation and it would no longer tolerate such tyranny and harassment.
"The people of the world are increasing more aware and awake," he said.
Ahmedinejad is scheduled to hold afternoon prayers at Malaysia's main mosque later Friday.
The AP contributed to this report.
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