Missile Command

Iran is busy testing another missile - this time its Shihab 3, which is capable of hitting Israel and other targets in the region, including US assets. The missile has a range of 1,500 km. Israel, meanwhile, prepares for the possibility of an Iranian attack and believes that the test was not fully successful:

The Shihab test was only "partly successful," according to news reports. The nature of the difficulties was not clear. The Iranians have been working to extend the Shihab 3's current maximum range of 1,300 kilometers. A year ago, they successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the missile.

In December, Israel's defense against an Iranian ballistic missile strike, the Arrow 2 missile system, succeeded in intercepting an incoming rocket simulating an Iranian Shihab 3 at an altitude higher than in the previous 13 exercises.

Maj. Elyakim, commander of the Arrow missile battery at Palmahim, told The Jerusalem Post last month that the missile crews were always on high alert, but that they were recently instructed to "raise their level of awareness" because of developments on the Iranian front.

All this comes as the EU3 continue to debate the merits of giving the Iranians a nuclear reactor in exchange for some commitment to not engage in weapons development.