An international panel of experts assembled by United Nations weapons inspectors has confirmed that Iraq has missiles with a range beyond that allowed by sanctions.
Details of tests involving two types of missile, the al-Samoud-2 and the al-Fatah, were included in the 12,000 page declaration issued by the Iraqi government on 7 December. On 27 January, inspectors suggested that these might be able to travel further that the 150 km limit imposed by UN sanctions after the 1991 Gulf War.
Now the team of missile experts, from the UK, China, France, Ukraine, Germany and the US, has ruled that one of the missiles, the liquid-fuelled al-Samoud-2 missiles, can travel up to 180km. According to Iraqi documents the al-Samoud-2 travelled beyond 150 km in 13 of 40 test flights. However, this would not give Iraq the scope to launch missiles at Israel, as it did in 1991.
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The panel said it could not be certain that the al-Fatah exceeded the limit. But it found that Iraq had also broken UN sanctions by modifying missile cases and developing test stands for prohibited missiles.
Unguided missile
Iraq鈥檚 Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has insisted the missiles do not represent a breach of sanctions. He told reporters: 鈥淭he main problem is that Iraqi missiles which are of a very short range don鈥檛 have a guidance system, and when a missile doesn鈥檛 have a guidance system it goes five, 10, 15 kilometres beyond [the limit].鈥�
Some nations, principally the US and UK, have argued that military action may well be necessary to ensure Iraqi disarmament. A breach of Security Council Resolution 1441, according to the text, triggers 鈥渟erious consequences鈥�. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said of the panel鈥檚 decision: 鈥淭he conclusion is inescapable: Iraq is in further material breach.鈥�
But those arguing that more time is needed for inspections, including Russia, France, Germany and China, say the finding demonstrates that Iraq is cooperating with inspections.
The missile discovery 鈥渟hould be considered not as a violation, but precisely as an example of cooperation of Iraq, and example of effectiveness of inspections,鈥� said Yuri Fedotov, Russia鈥檚 Deputy Foreign Minister.
Chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei will give their next briefing to the UN Security Council in New York on Friday at 1015 EST.