January 18, 2008	Friday	Muharram 08, 1429

JERUSALEM: Israel tested a missile on Thursday and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the West to work harder to prevent “the appearance of a nuclear Iran”.

Oil briefly rose almost $1 to above $92 a barrel on news of the test, which came three days after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Jewish state would consider all options to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Israel, Washington’s staunchest ally in the Middle East, says Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010 and that an Iranian nuclear weapon would threaten Israel’s existence.

In Moscow, Livni said Russian deliveries of nuclear fuel to Iran might help Tehran develop nuclear weapons.

Israel’s Defence Ministry said in a brief statement: “A successful missile launch was carried out within the framework of examining rocket propulsion.” Israel Radio said the missile tested was capable of carrying an “unconventional payload”. Defence experts say this means it could carry a nuclear warhead. The radio quoted unidentified foreign reports as saying Israel was developing the Jericho III long-range surface-to-surface missile.—Reuters