AiBotWashington will insist that Iran remove the threat posed by its ballistic missile program, an Israeli official said, as the United States continues to scrutinize Tehran’s activities in the Middle East.
According to a Reuters report, the official confirmed that the US will maintain pressure on Iran over its ballistic missile program, which has raised concerns among Western nations and its neighbors in the region. The remarks were made in the wake of a recent visit to Israel by a senior US official, who discussed regional security and cooperation.
“Iran’s ballistic missile program remains a major concern for us, and we will not hesitate to insist on its elimination,” the Israeli official was quoted as saying. The source added that Iran’s development and testing of advanced ballistic missiles, with a range that puts much of the Middle East within striking distance, poses a significant threat to regional stability.
The issue of Iran’s ballistic missile program has been a point of contention between Tehran and the West for years, with multiple UN Security Council resolutions calling for its cessation. In 2015, Iran agreed to a nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which included restrictions on its nuclear activities but did not address its ballistic missile program.
However, tensions have escalated since US President Joe Biden took office, following a series of events, including a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian military commander in January 2020, and the subsequent retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile strikes on US military targets in Iraq.
In response to these developments, the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran and has since pushed for the revival of the JCPOA, which includes the lifting of those sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program. The current state of negotiations, however, remains unclear.
An Israeli official noted that in spite of ongoing diplomatic efforts, the US will maintain its stance on Iran’s ballistic missile program as a key point of contention in regional security talks. “Israel will continue to work closely with other nations to ensure that Iran does not pose a military threat to any country in the region,” the official said.
The official’s comments underscore the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran, and the likelihood of continued scrutiny of Iran’s military activities by the international community. Regional security analysts will continue to monitor the situation closely, as negotiations over the revival of the JCPOA are expected to resume in the coming weeks.