Iran Attacks Israel and Europe?

This kind of scenario is not a joke; it is a real possibility. It raises the question, "What should our [US] response be?"

This article and this report in the German press put me on edge.

German intelligence believes Iran has now bought 18 longer-range missiles from North Korea, giving Teheran the capability to attack targets in central Europe, the German daily newspaper Bild reported Friday.

The study by the foreign intelligence service BND said the BM-25 missiles were being purchased from Pyongyang in the form of kit sets. The mobile missiles, which are based on the Russian SS-N-6 missile for submarine launch, will have a nominal range of 2,500 kilometres.

However it was possible to upgrade them to hit targets 3,500 kilometres away, the Munich-based BND said.

Iran already has Shehab-3 missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometres.

Bild quoted the BND dossier as saying: 'Germany and other parts of Europe could be affected in the medium to long term by the Iranian missile programme.'

It added: 'With longer ranges in the future, combined with the apparent efforts to obtain nuclear warheads, Iran would be in a position to reach all of Israel and parts of central Europe.'

According to the Bild report, the BND already suspects that Iranian experts are working towards adapting missiles to carry atomic payloads. The article stated that German agents have identified a site at Tabriz, 600 kilometers northwest from Tehran where work was being carried out on testing silo-based rockets.

Combined with news that a delivery of rocket components on its way to Iran from China was intercepted recently causes even more concern. The aluminum tubing could, in principle, be used to adapt an existing missile into a multistage rocket capable of traveling up to 10,000 kilometers -- which would put the United States in range.

I just wanted to throw this out there because I haven't seen much reporting about it in the press. Is this a significant threat? Will there be opposition to US intervention against this kind of threat? Will there be those who say the Bush administration stood by and "did nothing" if we don't act? Will there be those who say the administration "cherry picked" the intelligence if we act?

These are dangerous times. Iran and North Korea are serious threats to our National security. If just one of those missiles touch our shores it could be devastating. Am I being paranoid, or are the Iranians someone to worry about? Let me know what you think.