TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Wednesday test-fired an upgraded version
of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and
parts of Europe, in a new show of strength aimed at preventing any
military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West.

The test stoked tensions between Iran and the West, which is pressing
Tehran to rein in its nuclear program. British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown said it showed the need for tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran.

"This is a matter of serious concern to the international community
and it does make the case for us moving further on sanctions. We will
treat this with the seriousness it deserves," Brown said after talks
with U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon in Copenhagen.

Wednesday's test was for the latest version of Iran's longest-range
missile, the Sajjil-2, with a range of about 1,200 miles (2,000
kilometers). That range places Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, well within
reach, as well as U.S. bases in the Gulf region and parts of
southeastern Europe.

The two-stage Sajjil-2 and is powered entirely by solid-fuel while the
older, long-range Shahab-3 missile uses a combination of solid and
liquid fuel in its most advanced form..

Iran has repeatedly warned it will retaliate if Israel or the United
States carries out military strikes against its nuclear facilities, at
a time when the U.S. and its allies accuse Tehran of seeking to
develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the claim, saying its program is
intended solely to generate electricity.

Nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked for months, with Iran
equivocating over a U.N.-drafted deal aimed at removing most of its
low-enriched uranium from the country so it would not have enough
stockpiles to produce a bomb.. The U.N. nuclear watchdog last month
sharply rebuked Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.

State television broke the news in a one-sentence report accompanied
by a brief clip of the test, showing the missile rising from the
launch pad in a cloud of smoke.

Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi vowed that the Sajjil-2 would be a
"strong deterrent" against any possible foreign attack. He said the
new version can be fired more quickly and flies faster than previous
ones making it harder to shoot down, though he did not give further
details.

"Given its high speed," he said, speaking on state TV, "it is
impossible to destroy the missile with anti-missile systems because of
its radar-evading ability."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor declined to comment on
the latest missile test..

Iran has intensified its missile development program in recent years,
a source of serious concern in Israel, the United States and its
Western allies at a time when they accuse Tehran of seeking to build a
nuclear weapon. Iran, which is under several sets of U.N. sanctions
over its nuclear program, denies the charges and says its nuclear
program is aimed solely at generating electricity.

Israel has not ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear
facilities. Iran, in turn, has threatened that such an attack would be
retaliated against with strikes on Israel's own nuclear sites.

The name "Sajjil" means "baked clay," a reference to a story in the
Quran, Islam's holy book, in which birds sent by God drive off an
enemy army attacking the holy city of Mecca by pelting them with
stones of baked clay.

The Sajjil-2 was first tested in May. Iranian officials touted it as a
breakthrough over the Sajjil-1 unveiled months earlier, saying the new
missile had a more sophisticated navigation system. The Sajjil-2 was
tested a second time in September.

Solid-fuel missiles like the Sajjil-2 are more accurate than the
liquid fuel missiles of similar range currently possessed by Iran.
They are also a concern because they can be fueled in advance and
moved or hidden in silos. Iran previously had a solid-fuel missile,
the Fateh, with a far shorter range of 120 miles (200 kilometers).

Iran's arms manufacturing program began during the country's ruinous
1980-88 war with neighboring Iraq to compensate for a U.S. arms
embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored
personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane. The actual
capabilities of the weapons, including the accuracy and range of the
country's homemade missiles, are difficult to ascertain given the
secrecy of the Iranian military.

Source: My Way News
URL:
http://apnews. myway.com/ article/20091216 /D9CKDV900. html