'Iran obtained 12 long-range
missiles'
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Sheera Claire Frenkel and JPost Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 20,
2005
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Iran recently acquired 12 cruise missiles with a range of up to
3,000 kilometers, according to OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon
Ze'evi (Farkash) on Tuesday. He noted the missiles had the ability
to carry a nuclear warhead.
Speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for
the last time before leaving his position, Ze'evi noted the
missiles originated in a batch of 18 missiles shipped from Ukraine
to Russia. Twelve of the missiles made their way to Iran, while the
other six ended up in China.
He warned that Iran posed a substantial threat to Israel's
security, and that the United States was "dragging its feet" in
dealing with the situation. Still, the OC Intelligence head said
that diplomatic pressure slowed the Iranian nuclear program, though
it was still determined to produce an atomic bomb.
Ze'evi also mentioned that Palestinian terrorist groups were still
managing to smuggle weapons across the Egyptian border at the Rafah
crossing, although not to the same degree as they had
previously.
The weapons included shoulder-launched anti-tank and anti-aircraft
rockets.
The outgoing intelligence officer also warned of an imminent
escalation along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including launching
of rockets into Israel. He said that the cooperation between Syria
and Hizbullah was meant to ensure a continued state of
instability.