09 December 2019

Iran dismisses latest European assessment of its ballistic missiles

by Jeremy Binnie

Tehran has dismissed the latest European claims about its ongoing ballistic missile developments – including a new type of manoeuvring re-entry vehicle – in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Stills taken from a video released on 22 April show a Shahab-3 ballistic missile fitted with a new triconic manoeuvring re-entry vehicle. (Letter from the permanent representatives of France, Germany and the UK to the UN Secretary-General, 21 November 2019)

“This attempt has been made by making reference to such unreliable sources as ‘social media’ [and] repeated use of terms such as ‘if’, ‘may’, and ‘likely’, which even reflect complete uncertainty,” its ambassador to the UN stated in a letter to the UN Security Council released on 7 December.

This was a reference to an earlier letter jointly submitted by France, Germany, and the UK that noted an undated video that was released on social media on 22 April showing a “previously unseen flight test of a new Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile variant equipped with a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle”.

It said the Shahab-3 has previously been fitted with the manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle, but this footage showed a different type that appears to be a modification of triconic re-entry vehicles previously seen on Iranian ballistic missiles, but with a guidance and control section added to the rear of the warhead that has four triangular fins to steer it towards the target.