Iran Succeeds in Testing Mid Range Missile

While it`s been confirmed that Iran has successfully conducted the final test of a mid range missile, it was claimed Monday that Iran will succeed in producing nuclear weapons in about 2 years.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that Iran has succeeded in conducting the final test of the missile, called Shahab-3, which has a range of 1300 to 1500km several weeks ago.

The missile can reach Israel and American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the New York Times reported.

Iran contends that the missile relies entirely on Iranian expertise, but it is widely believed that the Shahab employs North Korean technology.

The United States Department of State announced that it will impose penalties on North Korean and Chinese companies, saying they sold missile technology to Iran.

Meanwhile, Senator Sam Brownback who laid the `Iran Democracy Bill` before the Senate which aims to foster democracy in the Islamic republic claimed that Iran may have a nuclear weapon by the end of 2005.

Brownback referring to the claim of the exile group, the National Council of Resistance (NCRI) of Iran (NCRI), claimed on Monday that Iran has two more secret nuclear sites besides the two new clear sites that the Iranian government disclosed.

If the NCRI`s claim turns out to be true, Iran will race to develop nuclear weapons, Brownback said.

maypole@donga.com