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Why Iran's Ballistic Missiles Matter

(Belfer Center-Harvard University) Olli Heinonen - The P5+1 negotiations with Iran should include talks on Iran's ballistic missile capability. UN Security Council Resolution 1929 requested, inter alia, that Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The IAEA report from November 2011 describes Iranian work - known as Project 111 - on engineering studies to examine how to integrate a new spherical payload into the existing payload chamber, which would be mounted in the re-entry vehicle of the Shahab-3 missile. The IAEA has assessed that the payload in question is likely a nuclear device. In light of these findings, addressing verifiable limits to Iran's ballistic missile capabilities should form part of a comprehensive nuclear agreement. The agreement should seek to suspend Iran's ballistic missile-related work and/or impose a moratorium on the testing of all ballistic missiles, with verifiable ends. Ignoring the strategic linkage between Iran's nuclear program and its missile program weakens any monitoring and verification system, undermines regional stability and security, and disregards both UN Security Council Resolution 1929 and the sanctions termination criteria as stipulated in U.S. law. The writer was Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
2014-09-24 00:00:00
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