Iran already has the Shahab-​​3, which is capable of reaching Israel and parts of Europe, like the Sajjil-2. But the Shahab-3 uses liquid fuel, which means two things: First, they have to be fueled before launch, something that can be detected by spy satellites, so potential targets can take appropriate countermeasures. Second, the liquid fuel is highly corrosive, greatly affecting the accuracy of the missile by destabilizing it.

The Sajjil-2—which is designed to be a weapon payload carrier, not a peaceful space rocket—uses the same kind of solid fuel technology that the United States uses in the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. That means that they can be perfectly accurate, like the Minuteman III is. But more importantly, these missiles can be safely stored and launched with no preparation or warning. Click the big red button, and the birds are on their way one second later.

The new Iranian missile is only a two-stage rocket. That means that they can launch one right now to Israel or Europe, with no warning whatsoever. It also means that, if they add a third stage, they would be able to use these missiles to reach any part of the world, from San Francisco, California, to London, United Kingdom, to New York, New York, that little town blue.

Hello Cold War 2, we didn't really miss you. [Weekly Standard via Defense Tech]

At least, that's what the theory is. Iran says that the missile can reach 2000km, which is enough to hit Israel, NATO-member Turkey, India, China, and some parts of Greece and the former Yugoslavia. According to Western military experts, however, the Shahab-3's range may be only 1300km. The same experts also say that there may be a 2500km range version, which could easily reach many countries in Europe.

The worrying part about all this is that the Iranians have now a working, solid-state, multi-stage missile. This means that even longer-range variants of the Shahab-3 are only a matter of time. Eventually, it will become a full Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles capable of hitting anywhere in the world. [BBC News]

During the Cold War, we provided the Polish people and dissidents with printing presses. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are the modern-day printing presses. They are the way to spread information and keep the hope of freedom alive amongst the Iranian people

Of course, the Predators—or whatever other method—could be taken down with missiles or fighter planes, but the basic idea is spot on: Give everyone free access to information at any cost.

Free dissemination of information is one of the keys to the independence and freedom of citizens everywhere. Actually, I wish there was some kind of global Wi-Fi system—one that will allow any citizen in the world to access information freely, without intervention of dictators and authoritarian figures in China, North Korea, Iran, or Cuba.

Maybe some crazy nerds with loads of money could work on something like that. You know, like Paul Allen putting a buttload of money, Steve Wozniak leading a new space-based Wi-Fi hardware standard, and John Carmack providing with cheap rockets to launch satellites. [AFP]

The core of the regime's online efforts is a process called deep packet inspection, which essentially scans nearly all internet traffic for offending material and can give authorities the ability to block the offending communications or, more importantly, identify where they came from. As you can imagine, this is quite a terrifying prospect for protesters, journalists and dissidents.

Here's how it happened: In 2008, the Iranian government contracted Nokia Siemens Networks, among others, to help update its communications infrastructure, predictably requesting power to monitor and control internet traffic. With the government's full monopoly on the industry and poor human rights record in full view, Nokia Siemens Networks obliged, installing a cutting-edge "monitoring center", which the WSJ calls one of the "most sophisticated" in the world.

Obviously Nokia and Siemens couldn't have foreseen this exact outcome, but honestly, what did they expect? For a government to use powers like this for good? [WSJ]

AP brings us Iran's state television footage:

Named Omid, or hope, the satellite weighs around 60 pounds and is primarily a "data-processing satellite" according to IRNA, the state news agency. Last summer, Iran said they successfully put a dummy satellite in space, but this appears to be the first time a working piece of hardware was put into orbit.

As we all know, space programs aren't all for planting flags in far-off rocks in the name of fellowship, exploration and the triumph of the human spirit—they're primarily for figuring out how to toss warheads at your far-flung enemies around the world. The differences between a rocket and an intercontinental ballistic missile are very few, and that's clearly one of the many messages Iran is hoping to send home with this launch.

The NYTimes is quoting David Washington, a proliferation expert at the Institute for Science and International Security, who says the Safir 2 rockets do not pose a serious threat:

“It’s not a very capable missile. The payload and diameter aren’t that great,” he said. “It doesn’t say much, if anything, about their ability to deliver a nuclear weapon. But part of the concern here is that Iran is continuing its steady drip-drip-drip toward a nuclear weapons capability.”

White house spokesman Robert Gibbs said the US will use "all elements of our national power" to deal with any potential threat posed by these new developments. [NYTimes, Breitbart]

At this point it's little more than wishful saber rattling, of course, but if there's one way to prove your mettle as a nation, it's to blast something big into space. But it would take a fool to think that space program could somehow help develop long-range ICBM systems, I mean, come on guys. Our space race with the Soviets was totally about the science. Right? [Reuters, Image: Giz's Iran Photoshop Contest Winner]

First Place — Helicopter Pacer
Second Place — Chuck Norris Cyborg Army
Third Place — Attack of the Clone Tool

Create images of Iran showing off its new tech, then send your brilliant results to contests@gizmodo.com with "Iran Tech" in the subject line. I'll take the best submissions, choose some winners and show off the results in our Gallery of Champions next Tuesday. Get propagandizing!

Nice work with the Photoshopping, Iran. You guys should enter one of our contests sometime. [NY Times]

The following objects are no-nos:
• Blogger, Orkut and Facebook The first of these surprises me, as Iran has the fourth largest community of bloggers in the world—even Ahmadinejad has one. (His latest entry reads "My package from Amazon arrived today—although it took its satanic time. Canceled cabinet meeting and the Ayatollah and I hit the games room all morning. GTA IV FTW." ) Anyone who wants to start one up has to inform the authorities, however.
• Celebrity magazines "Using photos of artists, especially foreign corrupt film stars, as instruments to arouse desire, publishing details about their decadent private lives, propagating medicines without authorization, promoting superstitions," goes the explanation.
• Boots and hats Only when worn by women, although I suspect that the Village People's steel toe-caps and leather cap might not make it past the "Down With This Sort of Thing" crew.
• Neckties Although they're not averse to slipping a length of rope around miscreants' necks, I guess a skinny number with piano keys down the front is just taking it too far.
• Breasts on mannequins Some shop windows display clothes on showroom dummies with mastectomies that look like they've been done with an ax and covered with flesh-colored duct tape. Yeah, lose that image from your brain now.
• Western music The artist worst hit is, apparently, Kenny G, so for that let me just say Viva la Revolución!

What, no gadgets banned? Wrong. camera phones are off limits. High-speed internet, too. The reckoning is that denying these items will allow citizens to remain in a state of moral purity. The state has even invested in US-built software that can scan images and files sent by phone to ensure that the morals of its citizens remain pure. And, in a way, they've got a point. Can you remember life before broadband? Yeah, it wasn't pretty—half an hour to open a single hi-res image. Porn traditionalists who like basic missionary sex must have been dying as they strained to see what was going on below the protagonists' expressions of ecstasy as the pic revealed itself, millimeter by agonizing millimeter. Not quite the skin smorgasbord Westerners now enjoy.

Nuclear reactors aside, what does the Iranian gadget freak get to play with? LG, apparently. The Korean electronics company is big in Iran, which gave it the green light last year to produce five cellphone handsets in collaboration with an Iranian manufacturer. LG stuff is advertised all over the place. Switch on the (silicone-free) Iranian music channel and you'll find the commercial breaks clogged up with plugs for LG's RoboKing robotic vacuum cleaner.

Whoah there! So, Barbie is about to be sacked, but autonomous vacuum cleaners are totally fine? Mullahs! Ahmadinejad! Do you not realize what you are doing? Now, I'm no great defender of Barbie (as a kid, I read war comics, climbed trees and played Doctors & Nurses) but these robot vacuum cleaners may be more of a threat than the blonde, pneumatic doll. In the grand scheme of things, I would think Barbie is a more traditional symbol of womanhood than a robotic floor cleaner that does the drudgery of housework, freeing the ladies of the house to dream of getting jobs, drivers licenses and other sorts of trouble. Are you sure you've got the correct target?

Iran's Arsenal For Sale [Defense Tech]