Iran’s Legitimate Ballistic Missile Program
by Stephen Lendman
None of its missiles, including ballistic ones, are designed to carry nuclear warheads Iran doesn’t have or want.
Their missile development, production and testing comply with Security Council Resolution 2231 - affirming the JCPOA nuclear deal.
They’re solely for defense, not offense. The Islamic Republic supports peace, not war it abhors. It hasn’t attacked another country in centuries. It threatens none now.
Washington, its NATO partners, Israel and other countries, routinely conduct missile tests, intended for warmaking.
Other nations don’t criticize them, Iran and North Korea alone unfairly slammed for purely defensive actions. Washington and its imperial allies threaten their security.
Iran’s Deputy Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Massoud Jazayeri said the Trump administration’s call for negotiating Iran’s ballistic missile program and other legitimate defensive military-related activities “delirious,” adding:
America and other countries wanting Tehran’s ballistic missile program suspended or halted are the “regimes that have time and again proven their despotism and hegemony.”
“Based on predetermined plans and objectives, Iran’s armed forces are actively working to reinforce the country’s defensive power, and at a time when the enemies of the Islamic Revolution openly threaten us with military action, developing defensive measure that are deterrent and disheartening (to these hostile states) will continue.”
“America, Saudi Arabia, Israel and their regional allies have been trying to limit Iran’s defensive power and try to convince Europe to join them in the process and project Iran's missiles as a threat.”
Israel has been nuclear armed and dangerous for decades. It maintains illegal chemical and biological weapons arsenals. It savages Palestinians and attacks neighboring states - with full support and encouragement from Washington and NATO.
It’s a regional and global menace. Iran is a peace champion - disgracefully treated like a pariah state, the world community failing to support its government and people against possible US and/or Israeli belligerence.
Trump lied claiming Iran’s ballistic missile program violates the nuclear deal. It breaches none of its principles.
He wants an international agreement altered to suit US and Israeli imperial interests. He wants to “fix” what isn’t broken and works as intended, supported by the world community.
His administration pressured Britain, France and Germany to form a working group, intending to explore options to alter what Iran won’t tolerate.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said efforts to change or alter the agreement without Iranian approval will not “have any impact in terms of maintaining our position to support full implementation of the agreement without any adjustments.”
“(T)hese games of the United States and its European allies” won’t change Russia’s support for keeping the agreement unchanged.
Separately, reports suggest Iran is building two missile production facilities in Lebanon - 50 meters below ground to protect them from hostile attacks.
One reportedly in the Beqaa Valleu will produce Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missiles with a range of up to 300 km, capable of carrying a 400 kg warhead.
The other facility will be located between Tyre and Sidon - for production of missile parts. With Lebanese permission no doubt obtained, Iranian facilities are entirely legal.
An IDF spokesman warned that Israel “is ready and prepared for any scenario and will be improving its readiness this year,” adding:
“(O)ur red lines regarding our security are clear…” Is he warning about possible Israeli cross-border aggression?
https://www.davidicke.com/article/454200/irans-legitimate-ballistic-missile-program
The IDF attacks Syrian territory regularly. Is Lebanon next?
The IDF attacks Syrian territory regularly. Is Lebanon next?
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