US and Israeli intelligence officials are convinced that Iran is now able to deploy limited numbers of Shihab-3 ballistic missiles. While it had been expected that Iran would need 5-10 years to reach this point, it was able to save much development time by purchasing missile engines outright from North Korea. A test of the Shihab-3 about 20 Feb proved that the missile is able to reach 1,300km but has no real accuracy; it would probably be able to hit a target no smaller than a major city. Fitted with a warhead of mass destruction, this would be adequate as a terror or revenge weapon. --Stephen V Cole