'Iran's Ballistic Missile Development Program Not Confined to Any Range': Defense Minister.

'Iran's Ballistic Missile Development Program Not Confined to Any Range': Defense Minister. (Fars).

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan underlined that his country sees no limit for the range of the ballistic missiles that it is developing.

"We don’t have any limit for the range of liquid or solid-fueled ballistic missiles," Dehqan said in a meeting in the Central city of Isfahan on Saturday.

He underlined the indigenous nature of most Iranian weapons and military equipment, and said, "90 percent of the country's defense systems have reached an acceptable standard and enjoy competitive quality compared with the weapons of advanced countries; production of the national individual weapons and efforts to improve the quality and precision-striking power of ballistic missiles are among the defense ministry's achievements in the defense field."

General Dehqan added that Iranian experts have also taken long strides in building satellites, satellite carriers, missile launchpads and research work in defense areas.

His remarks came as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fired 2 home-made 'Qadr H' ballistic missiles from the Eastern Alborz Mountains at a target in Iran's Southeastern Makran seashore some 1400km away in March.

The missiles were fired on the sidelines of the main stage of the IRGC drills in Central Iran and various parts of the country.

One missile had a message written on it that said in Hebrew: "Israel should be wiped off the Earth".

Qadr is a 2000km-range, liquid-fuel and ballistic missile which can reach territories as far as Israel.

The missile can carry different types of ‘Blast’ and ‘MRV’ (Multiple Reentry Vehicle) payloads to destroy a range of targets. The new version of Qadr H can be launched from mobile platforms or silos in different positions and can escape missile defense shields due to their radar-evading capability.

Improved warhead designs allow smaller warheads for a given yield, while better electronics and guidance systems allowed greater accuracy. As a result MIRV technology has proven more attractive than MRV for advanced nations. 

Because of the larger amount of nuclear material consumed by MRVs and MIRVs, single warhead missiles are more attractive for nations with less advanced technology. The United States deployed an MRV payload on the Polaris A-3. The Soviet Union deployed MRVs on the SS-9 Mod 4 ICBM. Hmmmm.....Anyone remembering how Iran's BFF North Korea is working on miniaturized nuclear warheads?

Iran fires two Qadr H missiles marked with 'Israel must be wiped out'.

Iran fires two Qadr H missiles marked with 'Israel must be wiped out'. (Yahoo).

Iran reportedly test-fired two ballistic missiles Wednesday with the phrase "Israel must be wiped out" written in Hebrew on them, a show of force by the Islamic Republic as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel.

Such phrases have been emblazoned on Iranian missiles before, but this test comes shortly after the implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers, including the U.S., and follows similar drills in recent days.

Hard-liners in Iran's military have fired rockets and missiles despite U.S. objections since the deal, as well as shown underground missile bases on state television.

There was no immediate reaction from Jerusalem, where Biden was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposed the nuclear deal.

Biden, speaking next to Netanyahu, did not acknowledge the missile launch directly but he issued a strong warning to the Iranians.

"A nuclear-armed Iran is an absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and the United States. And I want to reiterate which I know people still doubt here. If in fact they break the deal, we will act," he said.

The semiofficial Fars news agency offered pictures Wednesday it said were of the Qadr H missiles being fired. It said they were fired in Iran's eastern Alborz mountain range to hit a target some 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) away off Iran's coast into the Sea of Oman. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols that region, declined to comment on the test.

"The 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) range of our missiles is to confront the Zionist regime," Hajizadeh said. "Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries and it will not last long in a war. It will collapse even before being hit by these missiles." Read the full story here, more pictures here.

Iran needs ‘no permission’ to develop missile program: Zarif

Iran needs ‘no permission’ to develop missile program: Zarif. (IranFrontpage).

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will continue to develop its missile program and that Tehran needs “no permission” to enhance the country’s defense capabilities.

“We have announced that we will not ask permission from anyone to [strengthen] our defense and missile capability,” Zarif said in an interview with Iranian Students’ News Agency, ISNA, on Sunday.

The top Iranian diplomat went on to say that the country’s missile program does not breach the July nuclear agreement struck between Tehran and six world powers and that the deal does not ban Iran from boosting its defense capabilities.

Zarif said that Iran’s missile program will continue apace and will be provided with all necessary materials and equipment.

He further dismissed as “unacceptable” claims by US officials that the Islamic Republic’s missile tests are in breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying none of the Iranian missiles have been designed to carry “nuclear warheads.”

On October 11, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired its first guided ballistic missile dubbed Emad. Washington slammed the test, claiming the projectile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

In January, the US Treasury Department said in a statement that it had imposed new sanctions on several individuals and firms over Iran’s ballistic missile program, claiming that the program “poses a significant threat to regional and global security.”

The statement said five Iranian citizens and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China were added to a US blacklist.

Iranian officials say none of the country’s missiles, including ballistic ones, have been “designed to carry nuclear warheads,” and thus their production and test are not in contravention of Resolution 2231.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly said that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence and Iran’s military power poses no threat to other countries.

Touching upon Iran’s relations with the United States, Zarif told ISNA that the US should abandon its “mentality of sanctions.”

“We are still waiting to see whether the US is serious in its commitments” concerning the lifting of sanctions, he noted.

Zarif further criticized Washington’s “wrong” policies in the Middle East region. “US policies even harm their own interests in the region since they have caused unrest and created Daesh [terrorist group],” he noted.

Zarif said that Iranian officials have reached no agreement with US officials on regional issues, saying Tehran would take a decision on extending talks with the US should Americans “correct their policies.”

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Video - Iranian Animation Simulates Yemeni Missile Attacks on Saudi Oil Fields, Military & Civilian Targets

Nuclear arms race in the ME on? Nuclear power plant construction in Turkey to begin in early 2015 – Minister

Nuclear arms race in the ME on? Nuclear power plant construction in Turkey to begin in early 2015 – Minister. (Taz).

Construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) in Turkey will begin in March 2015, the minister of energy and natural resources Taner Yildiz said, the Anadolu agency reported Oct.10.

He said that the construction of nuclear power plants is of particular importance for Turkey.
Akkuyu, the first nuclear power plant in Turkey will be built on a Russian project that includes the construction of 4 power units. Agreement on the construction of nuclear power plant was signed May 2010.

The installed capacity of each power plant will make 1200 MW, the total installed nuclear capacity - 4800 MW. It is planned that the power units will be put into operation successively, with intervals of one year.

Previously Yildiz said that despite the different positions of Turkey and Russia on the political crisis in the Middle East, the priority of the two countries is the development of economic relations.

He said that first of all the matter rests in the investments worth $22 billion, which Russia makes in Turkey, including the construction of nuclear power plants.

Related: Nuclear Arms Race In The Middle East

Revealed: 15 nuclear reactors threatening Middle East arms race

 Chain Reaction: Avoiding a Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East

North Korea is planning to pursue strategic guided-missile tests.

North Korea is planning to pursue strategic guided-missile tests. (RN).

North Korea is planning to pursue strategic guided-missile tests, despite the international calls to limit its weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported Thursday citing a spokesman for the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Strategic Force.

“[North Korea] will continue to hold drills of launching high-precision tactical guided missiles," AFP quoted a KPA Strategic Force’s spokesman as saying. He added that the tests were a «legitimate exercise» of sovereignty.

Over the past week Pyongyang has conducted a series of missile tests. The agency reports that the tests are largely explained by the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Seoul.

One of the issues on Xi Jinping’s agenda in Seoul is North Korea’s nuclear program, as well as strengthening of bilateral ties between China and South Korea, a bitter opponent to Pyongyang.

In March, North Korea test-fired two 1,000-kilometer range Rodong ballistic missiles, also known as No Dong, into the East Sea. Rodong missiles can be equipped with a nuclear warhead. The country’s authorities said the launches were their response to the US-South Korea joint military drills and mentioned that new nuclear tests could follow.

Last month, South Korean news agencies reported Pyongyang appeared to be gearing up for a fourth nuclear test, citing a significant increase in activity at North Korea’s Punggye-ri facility in the northeast of the country.

N. Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in defiance of US-South Korean war games.

N. Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in defiance of US-South Korean war games.(CN)

North Korea on Wednesday test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles, South Korea said, a defiant challenge to a meeting by the leaders of rivals South Korea, Japan and the United States that focused on the North's security threat.

The launch of what are believed to be Rodong missiles would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and marks a big escalation from a series of shorter-range rocket launches the North has staged in recent weeks to protest ongoing annual military drills by Washington and Seoul that the North claims are invasion preparation.

It would be the North's first launch of this type of missile since 2009, said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.

Kim told reporters that that the missiles flew about 650 kilometers (403 miles) off North Korea's east coast early Wednesday morning. It wasn't immediately clear where the missiles splashed down. Kim said the missiles were likely fired from a mobile launcher.

The North's arsenal of an estimated 300 Rodong missiles could in theory be fitted with nuclear warheads -- once Pyongyang masters the ability to miniaturize atomic bombs -- and, with a range of up to 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), could reach Tokyo and key U.S. military bases in Japan.Read the full story here.

Iran unveils indigenous smart missile guidance system for ballistic missiles.

Iran unveils indigenous smart missile guidance system for ballistic missiles.(Taz).

Iran has unveiled its indigenous smart missile guidance system for ballistic missiles, which possesses high precision of hitting targets, Iranian IRIB news agency reported on Feb. 24.

The new system supplies point targeting ability in the sea and ground for Iran's new missile systems.
Ability to overcome the anti-missile systems as well as pinpoint accuracy are outstanding features of the new system.

Iran also has unveiled smart composite armor (liquid armor) which can be used in military vehicles.The armor is based on technology of liquid armor and is made from unique fibbers. It can resist steel core anti-armor bullets. It also increases mobility of the armed forces, by reducing the weight of some armor (like Kevlar vest), making its weight by 76 percent.

Liquid Armor is a material that is liquid under low or normal pressure and solid under high pressure. This liquid is made with polyethylene glycol and the solid part is made of nano-particles of silica. This liquid is soaked into all the layers of a Kevlar vest.

In Dec. 2013, Iranian defense minister, brigadier general Hossein Dehqan said that the country's military experts have enhanced the precision of domestically-designed and manufactured long-range and ballistic missiles to the level that the projectiles can strike targets with pinpoint accuracy.

On November 11, 2013, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Iranian missiles enjoy high precision against point targets, and they are capable of targeting moving vessels in the sea.

On Feb. 9, Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles, naming it as a response to the U.S. officials' statements that the military option against Iran is still on the table.

Does Erdogan's Turkey really need long-range missiles?

Does Erdogan's Turkey really need long-range missiles?(AM).By Burak Bekdil.

In late 2011, likely to the pride of millions of Turks, the state scientific research institute, TUBITAK, announced that its scientists would soon finish a missile with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) and in 2014 another with a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles). Another missile with an 800-kilometer range was ready for precision tests.

Professor Yucel Altinbasak, head of TUBITAK, said the order for the missile program had come from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This is a most realistic project,” he said. An engineer from the institute’s missile project group told state television TRT, “Turkish missiles [are] more advanced than US or German missiles.” Turkey's efforts toward offensive missile capabilities come at a time when the country is also trying to construct its first long-range air and anti-missile defense architecture.

This is a curious program, not only in terms of military technology but also in regard to international politics and security. With Turkey as the epicenter of a radius of 2,500 kilometers, some of the cities that could in theory experience Turkish missiles overhead include Algiers, Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Damascus, Geneva, Jeddah, Kiev, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich. Which of these cities stand to be a future security threat to Turkey?

Officials say the 800-kilometer missile will primarily target naval and aircraft shelter targets. Which naval and aircraft targets 800 kilometers away? They do not know. Politicians should answer this question, but for now defense officials are proud that TUBITAK’s missile scientists are working day and night to produce missiles that can be deployed, on naval and ground assets as well as aerial assets. One expert explained that in theory all this ambitious work aims “to maximize the Turkish military’s firepower.” That’s for sure, but why missiles with such a long range? Who are the potential enemies? Can Turkey attain such a long-range capability?.....(MFS: Does Hamas need missiles?)

“Theoretically, yes,” according to one missile scientist. “But practicality in this trade is always a different story for beginners like Turkey, especially due to strict international controls over proliferation.” Turkey is a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime, and thus it may now find it more difficult to access some of the “ingredients” necessary to make a missile. (IRAN).But can Turkey, really attain long-range missile capabilities? The scientist, with a sarcastic smile on his face, preferred not to respond further.

Turkey’s Western allies, however, worry that the Turks may be intending to use their own launching pad to fire the long-range missiles they hope to build. Whatever their intentions for the missile program could be, several expected and unexpected challenges on a global scale will likely be awaiting the neo-Ottoman army over any missile firepower it intends to possess. Hmmmm............Erdogan, Obama's BFF. Read the full story here.

As Carl in Jerusalem said in 2013:

For the moment, New York, Beijing, Seoul, Brasilia, Ottawa and Tokyo look safe and immune to future Turkish anger. But give Mr. Erdoğan another 10 years in power and Turkey might have another one with a range of 15,000 km by then.

There are a couple of minor problems, though. Since Turkey is a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime, it may now find more difficult access to some of the “ingredients” necessary to make a missile.

Second, I am not sure whether the punishing Turkish missile should be dubbed the Attila, or the Sultan Mehmed II. Third, and on a less significant basis, one triviality about the future Turkish ballistic missile could be that once shot and targeting, say, Tel Aviv, it may just be last seen over the skies of Edirne… 

IRGC Commander: Iran Among Rare World States with Ballistic Missile Technology.

IRGC Commander: Iran Among Rare World States with Ballistic Missile Technology.(fars).

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Iran is among the only three world country enjoying an indigenous ballistic missile technology.

“Many countries may have access to cruise missiles technology, but when it comes to ballistic missiles, I am confident that only the US and the (former) Soviet Union could master this technology, and now we can announce that we own this technology as well,” General Salami told FNA on Tuesday.

He pointed to Iran’s capabilities in the field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and said, “While we did not have any knowledge about drones, we have developed and acquire drones that travel 2,000 kilometers, conduct their operations and then land in our desirable regions.”

Earlier this month, General Salami said the precision targeting of IRGC's ballistic missiles has been improved to have a margin of error near zero.

“Our situation has improved now because our ballistic missiles margin of error (in precision targeting) is near zero now,” General Salami said in a ceremony held in Tehran to commemorate the martyrs who were killed in a blast at the IRGC base on November 12, 2011, including General Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam who was in charge of the IRGC's Arms and Military Equipment Self-Sufficiency Program.

He pointed to the role played by the late commander and head of the IRGC Missile Research Center, Martyr Major General Tehrani Moqaddam, in the designing and production of high-precision ballistic missiles, and said, “Due to such attempts the precision of Iran’s ballistic missiles has approached (a) zero (margin of error) and our ballistic missiles target moving vessels on the sea and they operate against (enemies') command and control centers.”

“Martyr Tehrani Moqaddam led us to self-sufficiency in area of ground-to-ground missiles and his ideas resulted in the development of an innovative missile power for Iran,” he added.

Earlier this year, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that Iranian experts at the IRGC Aerospace research center have increased the precision capability of the 'Persian Gulf' supersonic ballistic missile to a maximum margin of error of 8.5 meters.

Hajizadeh said the late commander and head of the IRGC missile research center, Martyr Major General Tehrani Moqaddam, played a major role in the designing and production of the Persian Gulf Missile.

"When in its second test the Persian Gulf missile hit a moving vessel with 30m precision, we felt to have made a great success," Hajizadeh said in June.

"When we explained the achievement to the Supreme Leader, His Excellency voiced pleasure in the increased precision of the missile, but demanded us to increase its precision capability to less than 10-15 meters," he added.

"Less than 6 months later, our experts improved the precision capability of this missile to less than 8.5m," General Hajizadeh continued.

"And when the Persian Gulf missile came into operation in the IRGC Navy, the countdown started for the trans-regional countries to end the mission of their warships," the IRGC Aerospace commander stressed.

The supersonic projectile, which carries a 650-kilogram payload, is smart and immune to interception, and features high-precision systems.

The Persian Gulf supersonic ballistic missile is the most advanced and most important missile of the IRGC Navy.

The distinctive feature of the missile lies in its supersonic speed and trajectory. While other missiles mostly traverse at subsonic speeds and in cruise style, the Persian Gulf moves vertically after launch, traverses at supersonic speeds, finds the target through a smart program, locks on the target and hit it.

The range of the solid-fuel missile is 300km and it can be fired from triple launchers.

The missile could successfully hit a mobile target one-tenth of an aircraft carrier in its early tests.

In early 2011, Iran started the mass-production of the Persian Gulf anti-ship missile which is designed to destroy targets and hostile forces at sea.

In April 2012, Hajizadeh noted the production of the Persian Gulf ballistic missiles, and said, "The research and testing phase of the Persian Gulf missile ended last year, and it is now being mass produced by the Defense Ministry."

Also in the same month, IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi underlined Iran's high defensive capabilities and power, and said the newly developed 'Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf)' missile would make the enemies change their equations and calculations due to its unusual and unique features.

"The Persian Gulf missile has been developed somehow different from the usual trend and can change the equations on which the enemy most relies," Fadavi said at the time.

Referring to Iran's missile power, he said that Iran is now in possession of home-made missiles with the range of over 200km which can be mounted on Iranian high-speed boats.

In July 2012, Iran's Persian Gulf missiles displayed their 100 percent precision capability after hitting and destroying the specified targets in the last phase of the Payambar-e Azam 7 (The Great Prophet 7) drills.

"The Persian Gulf missile precisely hit and destroyed the target which was several times smaller than the marine targets which can pose a threat," Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force said at the end of the last phase of the wargames on July 4, 2012.Hmmm.....So far from The 'moderate, peacefull' Iran Obama's newest BFF.