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Iran has successfully tested surface-to-sea missiles with a range of 110 kilometers (68 miles), Iranian state television reported Monday. The testing of the Silkworm missiles was the most important project of Monday's military maneuvers in southern Iran, the television said. It said the Silkworms have a speed of 290 kilometers (180 miles) per second and a range of 110 kilometers (68 miles). They can detect targets from a distance of 15 kilometers (9 miles) and have the capacity to destroy a warship. The report did not say whether the missiles could carry nuclear warheads. Iran's armed forces began their biggest...

The United States has briefed key nations on intelligence that it says shows Iranian atomic weapons work, namely research on getting a missile warhead to explode at an altitude that would maximize the blast of a nuclear explosion, diplomats and analysts told AFP. However, a non-Western diplomat said the US briefing, carried out in various capitals ahead of a meeting in September of the UN atomic watchdog, "looks plausible but there is no hard evidence," namely direct proof of a nuclear warhead project. Iran says its nuclear program is a strictly peaceful effort to develop atomic power in order...

(CNSNews.com) -- Savoring yet another reprieve in its nuclear standoff with the West, Iran has flexed its muscles with a show of military might and a warning that any nation considering attacking the Islamic republic would face a "destructive and fiery" response. Marking the start of "Sacred Defense Week" -- a commemoration of the 1980 Iraqi invasion which triggered a costly eight-year war -- Iran displayed weaponry Thursday including six Shahab-3 ballistic missiles. Experts say the missiles are capable of reaching Israel as well as U.S. forces in the region. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech that while Iran...

This is a compilation of articles related to the Iran ICBM missile program. Most space magazines and organizations are praising Iran for their efforts to space launch and explorations. This is my attempt to pull the pieces back into context. Shahab-3 / Zelzal-3 Technical Details   Range (km) 1,350-1,500 CEP (m) 190 (Previously thought to beseveral thousand meters) Diam. (m) 1.32-1.35 Height (m) 15.852-16 Launch Weight Mass (kg) 15,852-16,250 Stage Mass (kg) 15,092 Dry Weight Mass (kg) 1,780-2,180 Thrust (Kg f) Effective: 26,051 (-709) Actual: 26,760-26,600 Burn time (sec.) 110 Isp. (sec.) Effective: 226 - SL due to vainssteering drag...

Iran's missiles on a solid footing By David Isenberg WASHINGTON - On May 31, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani announced that Iran had successfully tested a solid-fuel motor for its medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile. Further details of just what was tested remain unclear, but the test is significant because if it truly was successful, it would represent an important breakthrough for the Islamic republic's missile program. To develop a missile with a range greater than 2,000 kilometers - in effect, a two-stage rocket that separates in mid-flight - Iran would need to master the more complex solid-fuel technology. This is...

Iran has confirmed that it successfully test-fired what it calls a "strategic missile" during recent military exercises. Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani told Iranian state media that following the test, the missiles had now been delivered to the armed forces. He did not name the missile or give details of its range. The announcement comes amid tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, which it insists is for peaceful purposes. Power and range "This strategic missile was successfully test-fired during... military exercises by the Revolutionary Guards and delivered to the armed forces," Mr Shamkhani said. He was quoted by Iran's student news agency,...

LONDON, Sep 8 ( IranMania) - Iran said Tuesday it is ready to show off a test of its improved Shahab-3 medium range missile, which is capable of hitting Israel, to "observers" in order to prove it is a success, AFP reported. "The ministry is ready to organise a new test of the Shahab-3 missile in the presence of observers," Defence Minister Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA. "The recent test that was carried out was a success." The minister appeared to be reacting to recent foreign press reports that questioned...

Iran is ready to repeat a test of a new version of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile, a weapon Iran maintains it produced in response to Israeli efforts to improve its own missile power and test-fired successfully last month. Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said his employees were ready to test the missile "in the presence of observers," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. He did not elaborate. In August, the Defense Ministry announced the new version of the Shahab-3 _ which already was capable of reaching Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East _ had been successfully test-fired. Israeli...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Defense Ministry on Wednesday carried out a field test of the newest version of its Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile, state television reported. Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said earlier this month Iran was working on improvements to the range and accuracy of Shahab-3, which defense experts say Tehran could use to strike arch-foe Israel or U.S. military bases in the Gulf.

Iran put on show its new Shahab-3 ballistic missiles in a military parade, with the rockets sporting slogans including "We will crush America under our feet" and "Israel must be wiped off the map". Seven of the missiles were seen being rolled past a podium of the Islamic republic's leaders on their mobile launchers, the climax of a show of strength held to commemorate the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1980-88 war with Iraq. According to a commentary given over loud-speakers lining the parade route, the missiles have "a range of 1,700 kilometers" (1,060 miles) and "are capable of...