Yes, it matters that Iran tested nuclear-capable missiles
December 4, 2018
U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that Iran has recently tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Washington Free Beacon reports, in violation of United Nations restrictions on such activities.
Iran has claimed that the missile tests are merely defensive in nature, but a top U.S. official, Brian Hook, the Trump administration’s special Iran envoy, disagreed and vowed tough new actions against the Islamic republic in the weeks ahead.
“Iran has launched missiles that are capable of carrying multiple warheads, including a nuclear weapon,” Hook confirmed to the news site while aboard Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s plane enroute to Brussels for NATO meetings.
“The Iranian government claims that its missile testing is completely defensive in nature. How exactly is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism entitled to the claim of defense?”
Hook said. “In fact, Iran’s security concerns are entirely self-generated Was the plot to bomb Paris defensive? Was the assassination attempt in Denmark defensive? Is smuggling missiles to the Houthis in Yemen to attack Saudi Arabia and the Emirates defensive? Is harboring al Qaeda defensive?”
“For the last 12 years, the United Nations Security Council has been telling the Iranian regime to stop testing and proliferating ballistic missiles, and Iran continues to defy the U.N. Security Council,” Hook said. “Iran’s continued testing and proliferation of ballistic missiles shows that the Iran deal has not moderated the Iranian regime as some had hoped,” the envoy added.
“It was a mistake to exclude missiles from the Iran nuclear deal and is one of the principle reasons the United States left it,” Hook said, a critique of the previous Obama administration for agreeing to Iranian demands that its advanced missile program not be covered under the deal. “Iran’s defense needs would be entirely different if they had not decided to wage sectarian wars of choice for the last 39 years.”
Analysis: Hook also noted that the U.S. has evidence that Tehran is exporting its advanced ballistic missile development and technology throughout the Middle East and beyond, and this is what makes the program dangerous and of concern to both the United States and Washington’s allies in the region, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“We have been warning the world for some time that we are accumulating risk of a regional conflict if we do not deter Iran’s missile testing and proliferation, ” Hook said.
The most recent Iranian tests involve medium-range missiles, and though Pompeo said the U.S. did not learn anything it did not already know about Iranian capabilities, the latest test involved a missile that could carry multiple warheads and reach all of the Middle East and much of Europe.
Europe has not been as eager as the Trump administration to sanction Iran and push back against its proliferation simply because Tehran is a reliable oil supplier to the EU.
But again, it’s the proliferation of the missile technology should concern European capitals even if they’re not being targeted by Iranian missiles, per se. The more proliferation, the more countries become capable of producing sophisticated ballistic missiles — and some of them may, in fact, target European capitals in the future.
There is also the danger of this technology falling into the hands of non-state actors like Hamas and Hezbollah, both of whom are funded and supported by Iran already . These militant groups are already well-armed and pose a significant threat to our principal Mideast ally, Israel. As more state and non-state actors obtain nuclear-capable missiles, that makes nuclear proliferation more attractive — and likely.
https://greatpowerwar.com/2018/12/04/yes-it-m...-missiles/
December 4, 2018
U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that Iran has recently tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Washington Free Beacon reports, in violation of United Nations restrictions on such activities.
Iran has claimed that the missile tests are merely defensive in nature, but a top U.S. official, Brian Hook, the Trump administration’s special Iran envoy, disagreed and vowed tough new actions against the Islamic republic in the weeks ahead.
“Iran has launched missiles that are capable of carrying multiple warheads, including a nuclear weapon,” Hook confirmed to the news site while aboard Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s plane enroute to Brussels for NATO meetings.
“The Iranian government claims that its missile testing is completely defensive in nature. How exactly is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism entitled to the claim of defense?”
Hook said. “In fact, Iran’s security concerns are entirely self-generated Was the plot to bomb Paris defensive? Was the assassination attempt in Denmark defensive? Is smuggling missiles to the Houthis in Yemen to attack Saudi Arabia and the Emirates defensive? Is harboring al Qaeda defensive?”
“For the last 12 years, the United Nations Security Council has been telling the Iranian regime to stop testing and proliferating ballistic missiles, and Iran continues to defy the U.N. Security Council,” Hook said. “Iran’s continued testing and proliferation of ballistic missiles shows that the Iran deal has not moderated the Iranian regime as some had hoped,” the envoy added.
“It was a mistake to exclude missiles from the Iran nuclear deal and is one of the principle reasons the United States left it,” Hook said, a critique of the previous Obama administration for agreeing to Iranian demands that its advanced missile program not be covered under the deal. “Iran’s defense needs would be entirely different if they had not decided to wage sectarian wars of choice for the last 39 years.”
Analysis: Hook also noted that the U.S. has evidence that Tehran is exporting its advanced ballistic missile development and technology throughout the Middle East and beyond, and this is what makes the program dangerous and of concern to both the United States and Washington’s allies in the region, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“We have been warning the world for some time that we are accumulating risk of a regional conflict if we do not deter Iran’s missile testing and proliferation, ” Hook said.
The most recent Iranian tests involve medium-range missiles, and though Pompeo said the U.S. did not learn anything it did not already know about Iranian capabilities, the latest test involved a missile that could carry multiple warheads and reach all of the Middle East and much of Europe.
Europe has not been as eager as the Trump administration to sanction Iran and push back against its proliferation simply because Tehran is a reliable oil supplier to the EU.
But again, it’s the proliferation of the missile technology should concern European capitals even if they’re not being targeted by Iranian missiles, per se. The more proliferation, the more countries become capable of producing sophisticated ballistic missiles — and some of them may, in fact, target European capitals in the future.
There is also the danger of this technology falling into the hands of non-state actors like Hamas and Hezbollah, both of whom are funded and supported by Iran already . These militant groups are already well-armed and pose a significant threat to our principal Mideast ally, Israel. As more state and non-state actors obtain nuclear-capable missiles, that makes nuclear proliferation more attractive — and likely.
https://greatpowerwar.com/2018/12/04/yes-it-m...-missiles/
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