JEANNE MERSEVE, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has learned that Iran is ready to test a medium-range ballistic missile able to strike Israel, Turkey and parts of Russia. CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre has our report from the Pentagon -- Jamie.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jeanne, Iran is expected to retest its medium-range Shahab-3 missile in the coming months, according to Marine General Tony Zinni, the commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, who has access to the latest U.S. intelligence reports. Zinni tells CNN that unlike the first test of the Shahab-3 missile two years ago, he expects this one will be a success. And that, Zinni says, would be a watershed event, because it would mean Iran would have a missile with a range of 800 miles, capable of reaching Israel, Turkey and parts of Russia. Zinni says that's worrisome because Iran could be anywhere between one and seven years away from developing nuclear weapons, depending on whether it can obtain fissile material (ph) from an outside source. Either way, Zinni's assessment is that it's only a matter of years before Iran has weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. Zinni retires next month, ending his tour as U.S. central commander, responsible for Iran as well as Iraq. And on the subject of Iraq, Zinni tells CNN that U.S. and British warplanes have destroyed more than 30 percent of Iraq's air defenses in the 18 months since the end of Operation Desert Fox back in December of 1998. This week alone, U.S. planes bombed northern Iraq on four consecutive days, always, the United States insists, in response to Iraqi gunners, fired at planes patrolling the no-fly zones. General Zinni says he sees no sign that Saddam Hussein will back down or that the U.S. any time soon will be able to scale back its operations in Iraq, which cost about $1 billion a year -- Jeanne.</s>MESERVE: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you.
Marine General Says Iran Ready to Test Medium-Range Ballistic Missile