. | . |
Iran denies sharing missile know-how with North Korea Tehran (AFP) May 17, 2011 Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday rejected a UN panel report alleging that it has been exchanging ballistic missile expertise and components with North Korea in violation of UN sanctions. "We have always rejected as propaganda and fabrications (reports) of cooperation between us and North Korea on the transfer of technology or transfer of ballistic missile components," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a weekly briefing. He said that Iran's missile capabilities had reached "such a level that we do not need the technology and spare parts from other countries." Mehmanparast was speaking in response to a UN sanctions report, which Beijing is seeking to block, that says Tehran and Pyongyang are suspected of sharing ballistic missile technology. Diplomats said a Chinese representative on a UN panel of seven experts on North Korea nuclear sanctions refused to sign on to the report, which said prohibited material was moved through a "neighbouring third country." The country is not named in the report, excerpts of which were passed to AFP, but diplomats said it was China, North Korea's closest ally and Iran's main trade partner. China had blocked an earlier report in February which called for additional sanctions against Pyongyang, already under two sets of sanctions for conducting two atomic tests in 2006 and 2009. Iran says its missile programme is home-grown but Western analysts say some of its weapons are derivatives of North Korean models. Combined with its controversial nuclear programme, Iran's ballistic programme has raised concerns that it might acquire the know-how for a delivery system for a nuclear warhead, an ambition Tehran strongly denies.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Thales's Lightweight Multirole Missile to Enter Production Paris, France (SPX) May 17, 2011 Following three years of development, Thales UK's Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) will now move forward into full development, qualification and initial production following contract award by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Qualification testing will take place during 2012 with production starting at the end of the year, and deliveries scheduled to commence in 2013. LMM will first en ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |