On Target: Capabilities, Intentions, and the Post-JCPOA Future of Iran’s Ballistic Missiles

“On Target: Capabilities, Intentions, and the Post-JCPOA Future of Iran’s Ballistic Missiles”

Speaker: Taleblu, B. (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

Date: 18 October 2018

Speaker Session Preview

SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Behnam Ben Taleblu (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. After summarizing his main conclusions, Mr. Taleblu provided a brief history of Iran’s missile program and outlined Iran’s inventory of ballistic missiles. He then discussed the “three P’s of the Iranian missile threat” (production, procurement, and proliferation), as well as the areas in which Iran has recently improved their missile capabilities. He also defined the terms “use” and “launches” in relation to Iran’s missile program, and outlined five reasons for Iran’s “use” of / obsession with missiles: prestige / status, deterrence, warfighting aptitude, nuclear hedging, and coercion. Next, he juxtaposed Iran’s minimal flight-testing of medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) prior to signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the surprisingly large number of ballistic missile launches since the signing. To conclude his presentation, Mr. Taleblu detailed Iran’s military uses for ballistic missiles and discussed its willingness to supply and proliferate to nearby countries.

To access an audio file of the speaker session, as well as Mr. Taleblu’s slides, please contact Ms. Nicole Omundson (nomundson@nsiteam.com).