Iran bought missiles from North Korea

BERLIN - AFP - Iran has bought 18 BM-25 missiles from North Korea which the Islamic Republic wants to transform to extend their range, the German press reported on Friday.

"Iran has bought 18 disassembled BM-25 missiles from North Korea with a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles)," Bild newspaper said, citing a report from the German secret services.

It added that Iran's ultra conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to have the range of the missiles "extended to 3,500 kilometers".

The newspaper said that until now Iran only had Shehab-3 missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers.

It further cited the secret service report as warning that "with a longer range, and the probability that (Tehran) would try to equip the missiles with nuclear warheads, there is the risk that Iran could strike at Israel and parts of central Europe."

It added that according to the German intelligence services, Iranian experts were already working on fitting the missiles with nuclear warheads.

The report comes amid outrage at remarks by Ahmadinejad calling the Holocaust a "myth", and a warning from Tehran on Friday that it would respond in a "swift and destructive" way if attacked by Israel.