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Iran's New Qiam Missile

(International Institute for Strategic Studies) Michael Elleman - On 20 August, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced that Iran had test-fired a new surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam (Rising). If the test was recent, it was in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1929, adopted on 9 June, which explicitly states that: "Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology." Photographs of the Qiam show a liquid-propellant missile with overall dimensions consistent with Iran's existing Shahab-2 (Scud-C), but with a newly designed nose-cone. The emergence of Iran's robust engineering culture, which is roughly on par with India's capabilities two decades ago, shows that sanctions and export control regimes have not been able to halt progress.
2010-09-01 10:01:45
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