[Dr. Aaron Lerner- IMRA: A 750 kg payload with 500 meters accuracy is the
description of a missile for delivering a conventional warhead?]

Iran Tests New Long-Range Missile
Kayhan International 12 October 2015
http://kayhan.ir/en/print/19355

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran on Sunday successfully test-fired a new guided
long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile. It was the first such a
test since Iran and world powers reached a historical nuclear deal.
Iran’s Defense Minister Gen. Hussein Dehghan, told the channel that the
liquid-fuel missile "will obviously boost the strategic deterrence
capability of our armed forces”.

He said the missile, named Emad or pillar in Farsi, was a technological
achievement for Iran – able to be controlled until the moment of impact and
to hit targets "with high precision”.

The Iranian television showed footage of the huge missile being launched in
a desert area, but it did not elaborate on the range of the missile or the
specifics of the test firing.

This is the first test of a ballistic surface-to-surface missile by Iran
since UN Security Council Resolution 2231 in July, which endorsed a landmark
nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers.

Since 1992, Iran has emphasized a self-sufficient and indigenous military
production industry, producing missiles, tanks and light submarines.

Iran already has surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 2,000
kilometers (1,250 miles) that can hit Zionist targets and U.S. military
bases in the region.

"The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision
and completely destroy them ... This greatly increases Iran's strategic
deterrence capability," Dehqan said at a televised news conference.

"We don't ask permission from anyone to strengthen our defense and missile
capabilities," he said.

"Our leadership and armed forces are determined to increase our power and
this is to promote peace and stability in the region. There is no intention
of aggression or threats in this action," he added.

Anthony Cordesman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, wrote in January that the Emad would
have a range of 1,700 km (1,060 miles), 500 meters (1,650 feet) accuracy and
a 750 kg (1,650 pound) payload.

It is a variant of the liquid-fuelled Shahab-3 missile, which has been in
service since 2003 and has a similar range.

"The Emad represents a major leap in terms of accuracy. It has an advanced
guidance and control system in its nose cone," the occupying regime of
Israel’s missile expert Uzi Rubin said.

In August, Iran unveiled a new short-range missile named Fateh-313, which it
said also offered improved precision over its predecessor, as part of an
apparent drive to upgrade the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

"What has become increasingly clear is Iran's desire to enhance missile
accuracy and lethality, a priority that very likely supersedes the need for
seeking longer-range missiles," Elleman said.

The Fateh-313 has solid fuel, allowing it to be set up and launched faster
than liquid-fuelled missiles, and a range of 500 km.

Improvements in accuracy could let Iran use its missiles in a wider variety
of roles, for example by targeting military bases or economic assets rather
than population centers.