By Pesach Benson, United With Israel
In a show of saber-rattling, Iran unveiled a new missile it said was capable of striking Israel and American targets in the Middle East.
According to reports on Iran’s state-controlled TV on Wednesday, the missile, called the Khaiber-Sheikan (Khaiber Buster), has range of 1,450 km (900 miles).
That range reaches all of Israel, most of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and even parts of Russia and Ukraine.
The name Khaiber is a reference to the Battle of Khaiber in 628 C.E. An army of Muslims led by Mohammed overran an the Khaiber oasis in the Arabian peninsula inhabited by Jews and defended by a network of forts.
Scholars suggest that the terms of surrender set a precedent in Islamic law for the status of dhimmis, or non-Muslims living under Muslim rule.
The Iranian reports also claimed the missile has a high accuracy and is capable of penetrating missile-defense systems, though no proof was offered.
Iran has made several attempts to launch rockets into space that failed.
The report comes amid the resumption of negotiations in Vienna over Iran’s nuclear program.
