IDF: Iran blast harms missile development program

Ynetnews

The IDF intelligence community on Monday commented on the explosion in a military base in Tehran two weeks ago, which killed one of Iran's missile project heads.

"The blast in the site where surface-to-surface missiles were developed can delay or bring to a complete halt the production of the missiles at that site," said head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence Research Section Department Brigadier General Itai baron at a briefing in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

"However," Baron cautioned, "It must be emphasized that Iran has other development sites other than the one that was destroyed."

The head of the research department also commented on the November 8 report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which determined that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program, saying the report "won't change Iran's course of action.

"The nuclear program will continue to progress despite the mounting pressures in Iran, and the worsening economic situation that might undermine the stability of the regime," Baron noted.

'No certainty in Middle East'

Addressing the Knesset committee, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the only certainty in the Middle East today is that things are not the way they used to be. "More than a million votes were stolen during the last elections in Iran. The agenda of the Arab world is now being dictated by the man on the street.

"It's hard to speculate what's going to happen with the weapon systems of countries that are going trough a whirlwind. The United States leaving Iraq creates a new reality, while Iran is seeking to gain a foothold in Iraq."

Meanwhile, Iranian officials claimed that the explosion did not delay the production of the missiles. Revolutionary Guard Commander Muhammad Ali Jafari stated that the technological innovation developed by the officer killed in the blast is ready for its final testing.