Shahab-4
{{Short description|Unbuilt Iranian rocket}}
{{infobox rocket
|name = Shahab-4 (IRIS)
|function = Disputed
|manufacturer = Iran
}}
The Shahab-4 ({{langx|fa|شهاب ۴}}, meaning "Meteor-4") (a.k.a. IRIS) was an unbuilt Iranian rocket, derived from the Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile. According to Iran it was intended to be a space launch vehicle,{{Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap-080211-iran-two-satellites.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208173617/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap-080211-iran-two-satellites.html|url-status=dead|title=Iran to Launch 2 More Research Rockets Before Placing Satellite into Orbit This Summer|website=Space.com |archive-date=February 8, 2009}} after a slip by the Defense Minister in which he acknowledged it as a "more capable ballistic missile than the Shahab-3".{{cite book|author=U.S. Department of Defense |title=Proliferation: Threat and Response |year=2001 |url=https://fas.org/irp/threat/prolif00.pdf|publisher=DIANE Publishing |pages=38 |isbn=1-4289-8085-7}} According to Western observers, it was intended to be part of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile.{{cite web |title=Iran Missile Chronology |url=https://media.nti.org/pdfs/iran_missile.pdf |publisher=Nuclear Threat Initiative |accessdate=30 June 2020 |date=August 2011}}
History
The IRIS/Shahab-4 project was initiated in 1988, but according to some sources, it never went beyond the drawing board. The design heritage of the IRIS was later incorporated into the Safir.[http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets_1/Rest_World/IRIS/Description/Frame.htm Project IRIS] b14643.de
In 1997, an American satellite captured evidence of a Shahab-4 test facility in Parchin.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}
In 1999, it was suspected that the Shahab-4 was largely derived from NPO Yuzhnoye's R-12 Dvina, which in its single-stage variant, had a maximum range of 2,000km and a circle of equal probability of 2,400m. The dual-stage R-12 Dvina was capable of lifting payloads into orbit.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}
See also
References
{{Iranian Space Program}}
{{Expendable launch systems}}
Category:Space launch vehicles of Iran
Category:Ballistic missiles of Iran
Category:Surface-to-surface missiles of Iran