Non solo i missili, con un raggio d'azione di 3.200 chilometri - almeno sei X-55, identificati in ambito NATO con la sigla AS-15 - sono in grado di trasportare testate nucleari, ma la loro disponibilità potrebbe far fare un grosso salto di qualità al programma nucleare militare iraniano, consentendo ad esempio di copiare la loro tecnologia per incrementare ulteriormente la portata di quello che attualmente è il più potente missile iraniano (derivato da un precedente modello nord-coreano: quando si dice l'Asse del Male...), lo Shahab-3.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said in an interview late Thursday that nuclear-capable cruise missiles were sold illegally to Iran and China under Kiev’s previous regime.
“I confirm this, though I do so with bitterness,” Yushchenko, who will make an official visit to Washington next week, told NBC.
He said the X-55 missiles were exported under a forged contract that had Russia as the country of destination, but did not say when the sale took place. A copy of the contract obtained by NBC appeared to bear clearance stamps for the export of 20 missiles to the Russia, which has denied any role in the sale, NBC said.
No nuclear warheads were sold with the missiles, made in 1987 which have a range roughly of 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) and were poorly maintained, according to a Ukranian source familiar with the investigation.
US intelligence officials quoted by NBC said China and Iran each obtained six missiles.
Ukrainian officials have offered conflicting accounts of the number of rockets delivered.
Despite lacking nuclear warheads, the rockets could advance Iran’s alleged quest for nuclear weapons -- they could reverse engineer the missiles, and double the range of its most powerful rocket, the Shahab-3, US intelligence officials told NBC.
According to media reports, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko confirmed recently that Ukraine secretly and illegally sold nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China under the former government of President Leonid Kuchma.
Yushchenko said that a shipment of 20 X-55 missiles was exported under a false contract that listed Russia as the destination. Russia has denied any involvement in the case.
There is an international cry for these two countries to return the illegal weapons and disarm as soon as possible.
The smoking gun reveals a fact that no one really knows what else these two countries really got through a concerted smuggling process and using the international non-conventional arms dealers in Russia and elsewhere.
The biggest danger is the fact that these two countries may decide to hand over the missiles to the terrorists like Al-Queda who can then use them to create a total havoc in the world!
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