Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Side Deal Update: Iran to skirt side deal of nuclear agreement, hold missile drills -DUH!

Iran will resume long-range ballistic missile drills in coming months despite a UN stipulation in the recent nuclear deal that Teheran halt nuclear-capable ballistic missile activity.
According to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, Teheran believes that wording in the nuclear accord is non-binding in that it merely “calls” on Iran to stop its missile activity.
Following the nuclear framework with world powers, there has been a push in Iranian parliament to resume ballistic missile drills, said to be a military deterrent against the U.S. and Israel. According to the nuclear arrangement, the ban on the Iranian ballistic missile trade is only to be lifted after eight years.
Annex B of UN Resolution 2231, which adopted the Iran nuclear deal, reads: “Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology, until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier.”
The U.S. has stressed ballistic missile activity is forbidden by the clause, while Iran says it has not accepted the annex, and claims its missiles are not designed for nuclear payloads meaning the paragraph is irrelevant in any case. A key army commander has confirmed that Iran’s domestic long-range ballistic missile are in fact nuclear capable, particularly the Shahab 3 and Sejjil 2.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry reacted to the annex in a statement, saying that its ballistic missile program will not be harmed by the resolution.
Iranian Ground Force Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan announced on Aug. 19 that six specialized military drills testing domestic rocketry are to be held by next March, Fars reported.

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