The latest from Reuters:
Iran may be able to build a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015, according to an unclassified Defense Department report on Iran’s military sent to Congress.
“With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the United States by 2015,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters. A classified version was also submitted to Congress.
… The U.S. military tried and failed to shoot down a simulated Iranian missile strike on the United States in January, in a botched $150 million exercise over the Pacific Ocean. That attempt failed because of a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co.
… The report also included an assessment of Iran’s broader military capabilities and support for insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as groups like Hamas in the Palestinian territories and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
With Iranian support, Hezbollah has replenished its arsenal beyond levels it had in the 2006 war with Israel, the report said, without offering specifics.
… The report cited recently uncovered caches of weapons that Iran’s Qods Force gave to Afghan militants. They contained “large amounts of Iranian-manufactured weapons,” including 107 mm rockets.
It estimated the size of Iran’s “Ground Force” at 220,000 personnel and the Revolutionary Guard Corps’s “Ground Resistance Forces” at 130,000 personnel. It said Iran had between 1,800 and 1,900 tanks.
Meanwhile, as Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad runs rings round President Obama, the two pictures below sum up the first 15 months of Obama’s Middle East policies:
