International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, April 27, 2006

Iran has purchased Russian-designed ballistic missiles from North Korea with a range of 2,500 kilometers, the head of IDF intelligence Major General Amos Yadlin said Wednesday, confirming a recent report out of Germany.

With North Korean assistance, Iran could already target Israel with its 1300 km range Shahab 3 (No Dong class) missile. But with the acquisition of the Russian-made SSN6 missiles (known in the West as BM-25s), Iran has extended the range of its ballistic capabilities to now take in much of Europe and parts of the Middle East previously out of reach. Some of the missiles have already arrived in Iran, Yadlin said.

The disclosure confirms a report in the German publication Bild that Iran recently received 18 of the BM-25 missiles from North Korea.

In a lecture earlier this month, Israeli missile expert Uzi Rubin - considered the father of the Arrow anti-missile defense system - suggested that German intelligence likely leaked the report to the press out of concern the country was now within Iran's range. Rubin said he also suspects North Korea may just be a conduit for Russian missile sales to Iran.

The purchase of the BM-25s has allowed the Iranians to leapfrog over their Shihab-4 missile program, which has a projected range of 2,000 kilometers and has been under testing for nine years with spotty results.

Ha'aretz adds that American intelligence sources say Iran is at an advanced stage of developing a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead. Washington has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the details of the Iranian missile program.

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