Iran missile test worries U.S., Israel

Capable of reaching U.S. troops

The Shahab-3 is a medium-range weapon capable of reaching Israel or U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. The state broadcast said the test was in line with Iran's policy of "strengthening its defense capability on the basis of the principle of deterrence.

"This test is not in any way a threat to any other country."

Crowley said the U.S. would discuss the missile tests with Iran if it succeeds in its quest to establish an official dialogue with that country. Other topics of the dialogue would include Iran's "state support of terrorism" and its opposition to the Mideast peace process, Crowley added.

But he said there was nothing to suggest the test was timed to coincide with the Mideast peace summit at Camp David, Maryland.

Working on a long-range missile

Western military experts earlier said the Shahab-3 failed its first test in 1998, exploding seconds after launch -- a claim Iran had repeatedly denied.

Iran says the missile is a ballistic one with a range of 800 miles, traveling at 4,320 mph with a one-ton warhead.

Iran is thought to have received missile technology from Russia, China and North Korea, a claim Teheran has denied. The Shahab-3 is believed to be based on the No Dong missile of North Korea.

Iran is also working on a long-range Shahab-4 rocket that it says will be used only to carry satellites into space -- not for military purposes.

The country began an ambitious domestic arms development program during the eight-year war with Iraq, to compensate for weapons shortages caused by a U.S. embargo. Since 1992, Iran has unveiled its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane.

The Clinton administration has said missile threats from "states of concern" such as Iran and North Korea justify the development of the controversial national anti-ballistic missile defense system.

Explosions heard in Teheran

Meanwhile, in Teheran itself, explosions were heard near the intelligence ministry on Saturday and witnesses say they saw ambulances racing from the scene.

Residents of the Seyed Khandan district said they heard as many as 19 blasts, possibly mortar rounds, rip through the area at around 9:30 p.m. local time (1700 GMT).

Police and members of the Islamic Basij militia sealed off the district near a major Teheran freeway. Officers at the scene said they could provide no information on the incident.

The Mujahideen Khalq Organization, the armed Iraqi-based opposition, has claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman told CNN that the group fired 20 mortars into the center of Teheran in response to the "suppression" of 50,000 students last Saturday, when student protests erupted into violence.

The students last weekend were holding street demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of a police crackdown on activists demanding reform and press freedoms. Last year's action led to six days of open protests, and one person was killed.

A statement by the Mujahideen, received by Reuters in London, said the mortar attack targeted the main headquarters of the Iraqi intelligence ministry, killing or wounding a number of personnel.

Central Teheran has been subjected to periodic mortar attacks claimed by the organization. Police stations, military barracks and government offices have been the most frequent targets.

A Mujahideen mortar attack near the Teheran police headquarters in May injured six. Another attack in March killed one person and injured several others.