The Obama administration, touting evidence of continued troubles inside Iran’s nuclear program, has been trying to persuade Israel that it would take roughly a year, maybe longer, for Iran to complete their quest for a nuclear weapon, according to administration officials.

Today’s news from Iran will not help.

Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced on Friday that Iran has test fired a surface-to-surface missile, Qiam, and screened footage of the event on state television.

This announcement comes a day before Iran is scheduled to go on line with its Russian-built first nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr.

The television images showed the sand coloured Qiam (Rising) blasting into the air from a desert terrain, amid chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).

The words “Ya Mahdi” were written on the side of the missile, referring to Imam Mahdi, one of the 12 imams of Shiite Islam, who disappeared as a boy and whom Muslims believe will return one day to bring redemption to mankind.

Vahidi, speaking during Friday prayers in Tehran, would not reveal when the launch took place nor the precise range of the missile.

He did say on state television that the missile was of a new class:

The missile has new technical aspects and has a unique tactical capacity.  Since the surface-to-surface missile has no wings, it has a lot of tactical power, which also reduces the chances of it being intercepted.

Vahidi had announced on Tuesday that Qiam was to be test fired during the annual government week, the period when Tehran shows off  its achievements in various fields.  This year government week begins on Monday.

The third generation Fateh 110 (Conqueror) missile is also scheduled to be test fired during this period. Iran has previously paraded a version of Fateh 110 which has a travel range of 150 to 200 kilometres (90 to 125 miles).

Also during government week, the production lines of two missile-carrying speedboats, Seraj (Lamp) and Zolfaqar (named after Shiite Imam Ali’s sword) are going to be unveiled long with a long-range drone, Karar.

The firing of Qiam comes days after a top commander from the Revolutionary Guards said Iran will mass produce replicas of the world’s fastest boat, the Bladerunner 51, , and equip them with weapons to be deployed in the Gulf.

On August 8, Iran took delivery of four new mini-submarines of the home-produced Ghadir class. Weighing 120 tonnes, the “stealth” submarines are aimed at operations in shallow waters, notably in the Gulf.

Iranian officials frequently brag about the Islamic republic’s military capabilities and the latest missile launch comes at a time when local officials have been warning against any attack on the Islamic republic.

While Iran is thumping its chest and bragging about its military might, the authors of Smart Power!, Obama and his administration, were certain that their assessment of Iran’s nuclear program has somehow dimmed the prospect that Israel would pre-emptively strike against the country’s nuclear facilities within the next year, as Israeli officials have suggested in thinly veiled threats.

For years, Israeli and American officials have gone back and forth on whether Iran is on a quest toward a nuclear bomb and, if they are, how long it would take to produce one.   What is the unknown factor is how long would it take Tehran to convert existing stocks of low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade material, a process commonly known as “breakout.”

Israeli intelligence officials believe that Iran could complete such a race for the bomb in months, while American intelligence agencies have come to believe in the past year that the timeline is longer.

Gary Samore, Obama’s top adviser on nuclear issues, said:

We think that they have roughly a year dash time.   A year is a very long period of time.”

Administration officials believed international inspectors would detect an Iranian move toward breakout within weeks, leaving a considerable amount of time for the United States and Israel to consider military strikes.

These assessments were based on intelligence collected over the past year, as well as reports from international inspectors.  It is not known whether the problems that Iran has had enriching uranium are the result of poor centrifuge design, difficulty obtaining components or accelerated Western efforts to sabotage the nuclear program.

American and Israeli officials have believed that Iran’s quest for nuclear power will not be over anytime soon. For one thing, Iran, which claims it is interested in enriching uranium only for peaceful purposes, would be forced to build nuclear bombs from a limited supply of nuclear material, currently enough for two weapons. Second, such a decision would require kicking out international weapons inspectors.  That would be a clear signal that even Obama and his administration could recognize.

Even if Iran were to move in this direction, the administration says it would probably take Iran some time to reconfigure its nuclear facilities to produce weapons-grade uranium and ramp up work on designing a nuclear warhead.

Israeli officials have warned that if they saw a race for the bomb under way, they would probably take military action and encourage the United States to join the effort.  A spokesman for Israel’s embassy in Washington declined to comment for this article. In interviews, Israeli officials said their assessments were coming into line with the American view, but they remain suspicious that Iran has a secret enrichment site yet to be discovered.

Meanwhile, Israelis and Palestinians seem to be closer to beginning direct peace talks.  

An official statement calling for direct talks to begin is expected to be released soon by the Quartet, a group composed of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

Israeli and Palestinian officials told Fox News that they are waiting for the Quartet statement first before announcing anything formally.

Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator said:

I have not seen the statement and we will wait to see what the Quartet releases before making any announcements. 

 A Washington summit led by Obama to formally launch talks is expected to follow, likely before the Jewish holidays begin on Sept 9.

American officials said the White House set very early on a tentative deadline of 2011 for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Both Israeli and Palestinian governments are expected to consult with their leaders before agreeing to direct talks.

Israeli officials are concerned that the Quartet statement will call on the Jewish state to freeze construction in West Bank settlements. A construction freeze is set to expire on September 26 and the government has already said it will not renew it.

Palestinians have said they will not enter direct talks unless Israel agrees first that a future Palestinian state would follow the 1967 borders– the border between the two territories as it was on the eve of the 1967 Six Day War.

These proposed talks would cover the same issues as previous talks:  the outline for borders of a future state, Jerusalem’s status, Israeli security, and whether Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return to the homes they had before Israel’s creation.

While domestic issues involving America’s economy and the nation’s perception that Obama is, at best, a Muslim sympathizer, have seemingly monopolized our country’s attention, the area of the world known as The Middle East, continues to be minefield where the next next miscalculated step could lead to an explosion.  Unfortunately, the same waffling, Far-Left leadership that this administration has demonstrated concerning America’s domestic issues, in very evident in its bungling Foreign Policy initiative, ironically named Smart Power.

It is not comforting to Americans to know that The Middle East remains a powder keg waiting to explode, and this administration is holding the match.