Iran's Shehab-3 Missile

Leo identifies the Shehab-3 missile during an Oval Office meeting and suggests halting its tests to secure approval for the Ayatollah's son's heart-and-lung transplant flight. Bartlet refuses the linkage; C.J., Charlie, and an aide back him. The missile persists as a threat with unchecked tests. C.J. later fields reporters' questions in the briefing room, recasting the tests as a multilateral diplomatic issue the White House addresses without implicating the President. Reporters John and Mitch push for details amid routine announcements.

4 appearances

Purpose

Ballistic missile testing to demonstrate capabilities; proposed target for diplomatic moratorium

Significance

Geopolitical threat fuels White House debates on linkage to humanitarian aid and draws press scrutiny, forcing C.J. to manage optics and deflect blame during briefings.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Oval Banter and the Red‑Cross Line

The Shehab‑3 missile functions as the bargaining object Leo wants to tie to the medical mission; it is invoked to justify demanding a moratorium via diplomatic pressure.

Before: An operational threat under consideration, with potential tests ongoing or planned.

After: Raised as a demand in the Swiss communiquÉ concept, but Bartlet explicitly refuses to let it contaminate the humanitarian mission — its testing remains a separate political issue.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

You Don't Bargain a Life — Bartlet Draws a Humanitarian Line

The Shehab-3 missile functions as the strategic bargaining chip Leo wants to tie to the communique; mentioned as the specific test Leo wants halted in exchange for permitting the flight, it becomes the focal strategic asset in the leverage argument.

Before: Active regional threat with tests continuing or imminent; referenced as ongoing concern.

After: Still a strategic concern; the President refuses to link cessation of tests to the humanitarian mission, reducing immediate chance of transactional leverage.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar

Containment by Spin: Shehab Tests, APEC Tease, and Routine Resignations

The Shehab-3 missile tests are invoked as a security incident of concern; C.J. deliberately frames them as a multilateral diplomatic matter involving Bahrain signatories rather than a direct executive failure, steering responsibility away from the President.

Before: Undergoing accelerated tests causing international concern.

After: Being publicly addressed through multilateral diplomatic channels as stated by the White House; no new direct policy action announced in the briefing.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar

Podium Politics — Mitch Confronts C.J.

The Shehab‑3 missile is the substantive topic that opens the briefing; questions about its accelerated tests frame the press’s agenda, providing the policy backdrop to the optics dispute that follows.

Before: Undergoing accelerated tests, prompting reporter concern and administration diplomatic responses.

After: Identified by C.J. as a concern the administration is addressing through multilateral channels; no immediate operational change announced in this scene.

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