Another Day, Another Claimed Iranian Missile Test

Reuters is again reporting that the Iranians have successfully tested a new longer range missile.

Iran said it test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile on Wednesday and that the Islamic Republic was ready to defend itself against any attacker.

Iran's latest missile test followed persistent speculation in recent months of possible U.S. or Israeli strikes against its nuclear facilities, which the West suspects form part of a covert atomic weapons program, a charge Tehran denies.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, like outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, has not ruled out military action although he has criticized the Bush administration for not pursuing more diplomacy and engagement with Tehran.

Washington said the test highlighted the need for a missile defense system it plans to base in Poland and the Czech Republic to counter threats from what it calls "rogue states."

Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said the Iranian-made surface-to-surface Sejil missile had "extremely high capabilities" and was only intended for defensive purposes.

He said it had a range of close to 2,000 km (1,200 miles), almost as far as another Iranian missile, Shahab 3. That would enable it to reach Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf.

It is reputedly a two stage rocket, and the Iranians claim that it can go 1,200 miles.

Reuters has video of the launch. The FAS website notes that the missile is similar in range to the Shahab 4 variant, which is a single stage rocket.

There's no word on whether the missile was able to hit the planned target. Getting the missile off the ground is only part of the problem (as witnessed by failed launches airbrushed by the Iranians in the past). They've got to be able to hit their targets, or else they're little more than terror weapons.

Still, the Iranian efforts to improve and expand their missile technologies means that US missile defense systems remain a vital and necessary part of US defense capabilities for the foreseeable future as the Iranians continue to work towards increasing the range of their weapons systems.

UPDATE:
FAS has a breakdown of Iranian missile capabilities, and the Sejil (or Sijil) is not among them. They are probably referring to the Shahab 4 as the Sejil.