Iran Test Fires Missile Capable Of Hitting Israel, U.S. Bases

May 20, 2009 8:28 a.m. EST

Tehran, Iran (AHN) - Speaking to a crowd in the city of Semnan, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed Tehran has successfully test fired a medium-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile with the ability to reach targets in Israel and the Persian Gulf region.

"Defense Minister [Mohammed Najjar] told me today that we launched a Sajjil-2 missile, which is a two-stage missile and it has reached the intended target," Ahmadinejad said, according to the BBC. Adding that the missile was "able to go beyond the atmosphere then come back and hit its target."

Iranian military authorities are apparently continuing their testing of the "Sajjil" class ballistic missile. On November 12, 2008, Iran announced a successful test launch of a Sajjil missile. However, U.S. officials doubted the success of the launch, claiming the test rocket suffered an internal failure during the early stages of its flight and traveled only 180 miles.

According to state-run Iranian media, "the Sajjil missile has a range of almost 2,000 kilometers and is different from Shahab-3 missile. It operates in two stages and uses solid fuel, whereas, Shahab-3 missile is one-stage operator and uses liquid fuel."

"We know that Iran is developing an extended version of the Shahaab-3 that could strike our allies and our friends from the middle east as well as southeastern Europe and to include some of our deployed forces," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed in November. "We've consistently pointed out that Iran's missile program is a concern and this testing is another reminder of the importance of establishing a missile defense site."