MOSCOW, April 13 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian military expert said Thursday that Iran would never obtain intercontinental ballistic missiles but could threaten its neighbors with mid-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Yury Solomonov, director of the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering and chief designer of Russia's Topol strategic missiles, said the international community should make a critical assessment of media reports on Iran's missile technology.
"Iran has neither the scientific nor the technological capability to build ICBMs," Solomonov said. But he said the country could build mid-range missiles similar to the Soviet-made Scuds, produced in a modified version as the Sahap rocket.
"In relation to the threat for [Iran's] neighbor states, Iran's capabilities [to build Sahaps] should not be underestimated," he said.
Concerns about Iran's missile capability were fueled by statements Tuesday by the country's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said Iran had successfully enriched uranium to a degree sufficient for use in nuclear power plants and had joined the club of nuclear-capable nations.
