Lawmaker Dismisses Report of Russian Assistance in Iran Missile Program

MOS News:

Kostantin Kosachyov, chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee is certain an article published in the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph about possible Russian cooperation and mediation in Iran’s missile technology sector has no basis in reality, the Interfax news agency reported Monday. READ MORE

A day earlier, the British paper alleged that former members of the Russian military have been secretly helping Iran to acquire technology needed to produce missiles capable of striking European capitals.

The Russians were acting as go-betweens with North Korea as part of a multi-million pound deal they negotiated between Teheran and Pyongyang in 2003, enabling Teheran to receive regular clandestine shipments of top secret missile technology, the Telegraph claimed.

“As a member of parliament, I believe that the relevant Russian bodies, i.e. the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the FSB [Federal Security Service] and others, should quickly and effectively react to this article, in order to prevent the possibility of the spiral of insinuations spinning out of control.

”However, I have no doubt as to what the contents of our response will be: Russia cannot have cooperated with Iran and North Korea, and certainly did not do this,“ Kosachyov said during an interview for Interfax.

The controversial report said Western intelligence officials believe that the technology will enable Iran to complete development of a missile with a range of 2,200 miles, capable of hitting much of Europe. It is designed to carry a 1.2-ton payload, sufficient for a basic nuclear device.

Iran’s longest-range missile is the Shahab 3, which, with an 800-mile range, could hit Israel. The North Korean deal will allow the Iranian missile to reach targets far into Europe — including Rome, Berlin, and much of France.

North Korea has developed a missile, the Taepo Dong 2, that could reach America’s west coast, based on the submarine-launched Soviet SSN6. Modifications allow it to be fired from a land-based transporter and this technology is being smuggled to Teheran with Russian help.

Russians have provided production facilities, diagrams and operating instruction so the missile can be built in Iran. Liquid propellant has been shipped to Iran. Russian specialists have also been sent to Iran to help development of its Shahab 5 missile project, which the Iranians hope to have operational by the end of the decade, the Telegraph reported.