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Iran's Ballistic Missile Pursuit Continues
(Foreign Policy Initiative) Tzvi Kahn - On Aug. 21, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan again affirmed Iran's plans to continue ballistic weapons development. "In the aerospace industry," he said, "we are producing all ballistic missile ranges," noting that Iran is "considering the design, research, and production of [missiles] that are highly destructive, highly accurate, radar evasive, and tactical." Brig.-Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said: "Some wrongly think Iran has suspended its ballistic missile programs in the last two years and has made a deal on its missile program." Dehghan said, "We will design and produce any missiles that we want." President Hassan Rouhani added, "We will buy, sell and develop any weapons we need, and we will not ask for permission or abide by any [UN] resolution for that." Iran actively seeks to acquire an ICBM, which would amount to the most dangerous weapon in its arsenal. Using its space program as a cover for this objective, Iran recently launched an experimental satellite into Earth's orbit. The writer, a Senior Policy Analyst for the Foreign Policy Initiative, previously served as Assistant Director for Policy and Government Affairs at AIPAC.