TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran said yesterday it can mass produce the Shahab-3 missile, a weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Israel and US forces in the Middle East.

"We have reached a point in the field of producing the Shahab-3 missile that we are able to mass produce (it)... like a Paykan car," Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani told state-run television yesterday.

Paykan is Iran's best-selling aging car produced by Iran Khodro Company, the Middle East's biggest automaker.
Iran has produced the missile in response to efforts by arch-foe, Israel, to upgrade its own missile system.
Shamkani's comments about the Shahab-3 follow lengthy discussions between Britain, France and Germany over Tehran's contentious nuclear program.

Diplomats have said they expect Iran to announce this week a full suspension of activities - particularly nuclear enrichment - that can be used to make atomic bombs.

The United States wants Iran dragged before the UN Security Council to face sanctions, claiming the Persian state is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the claims, saying instead its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at generating energy.

The missile, whose name "Shahab" means shooting star in Farsi, has a range of about 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) and is capable of reaching Israel and various US military bases in the region.
Iran last successfully tested the medium-range missile in 2002 before equipping its elite Revolutionary Guards with it in July 2003.

In August, Iran tested a new version of the Shahab-3. Shamkhani said at the time that Iran was trying to improve the range and accuracy of the missile in response to efforts by Israel to upgrade its missile system.

Last month, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani said Iran's missiles now have a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), a substantial extension of their previously declared range.

Shamkhani didn't say yesterday which type of Shahab-3 Iran was able to mass produce, but said Iran was able to meet all its armed force's needs.
Israel and the United States have jointly developed the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system in response to Shahab-3's threat.

Developed jointly by Israel Aircraft Industries and Chicago-based Boeing Co at a cost of more than US$1 billion (euro774.5 million), the Arrow is one of the few systems capable of intercepting and destroying missiles at high altitudes. Its development followed the US-led 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel.

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