DAR AL HARB - ISRAEL: THE ARROW ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEM

Israel's Arrow rocket now a match for any Iranian missile, lawmaker says

JERUSALEM: Israel's Arrow interceptor can now shoot down the most advanced ballistic missiles in the Iranian arsenal, including those that can carry nuclear warheads, a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said Friday.

Tests of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system — the latest carried out successfully Monday — show it can intercept any missile Iran possesses, lawmaker Yuval Steinitz told The Associated Press.

The Arrow has been shown to be "extremely effective," Steinitz said, asserting that the system can deal with any ballistic missile, "including any Iran is likely to purchase or develop in the next five years or so."

Israel regards Iran as its greatest threat because it possesses both advanced missiles and a nuclear program that many in the West fear is aimed at building nuclear weapons. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists his country's nuclear ambitions are limited to producing energy, but has reinforced Israel's concerns by repeatedly calling for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map."

Developed by Israel Aircraft Industries and Chicago-based Boeing Co. at a cost of more than $1 billion (euro750 million), the Arrow project was spurred largely by the failure of the U.S. military's Patriot missiles to intercept Iraqi Scud rockets fired at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.

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1) Israel's Arrow rocket now a match for any Iranian missile, lawmaker says