Iran continuing to work on nuclear weapon systems

Despite what you may be hearing from President Obama and his administration, a new report from the Pentagon confirms Iran continues to work on developing its nuclear weapon systems.

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Tehran is in violation of U.N. Security Council limits by continuing to develop long-range ballistic missiles.

"The Obama administration ceded to Iranian demands that their missile program was non-negotiable and, instead, has tried to reassure Congress that this missile threat can be mitigated by constraining Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear warhead.

"This major administration concession to Iran will greatly complicate the U.S. intelligence community’s ability to detect whether Iran has develop a nuclear warhead-carrying ICBM capable of reaching the continental United States.

"By its very nature, it is much more difficult to detect and prevent warhead development, which can take place in small, covert facilities, than it is to determine the nature and extent of a hostile missile program. In yet another example of how deeply flawed the emerging Iran deal will be, Tehran will have a much easier pathway to develop systems," Dubowitz said.

The Pentagon report states that "although Iran has paused progress in some areas of its nuclear program and fulfilled its obligations under the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), it continues to develop technological capabilities that also could be applicable to nuclear weapons, including ballistic missile development.

Iran’s military continues to a serious threat to the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran continues to develop its capabilities to control the Strait of Hormuz and avenues of approach in the event of a military conflict," the report said.

The Pentagon also said that Iran is “quietly fielding increasingly lethal weapon systems, including more advanced naval mines, small but capable submarines, armed unmanned aerial vehicles, coastal defense cruise missile batteries, attack craft, and ant ship-capable missiles.”

Iran also continues to supply and fund terrorists organizationa around the world.

“Iran’s covert activities appear to be continuing unabated.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) remains a key tool of lran’s foreign policy and power projection, particularly in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen," the report said.

“The committee remains concerned about the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile development programs.

"Since 2008, Iran has conducted multiple successful launches of the two-stage Safir space launch vehicle (SLV) and has also revealed the larger two stage Simorgh SLV, which could serve as a test bed for developing ICBM technologies," the report said.

Ilan Berman, an Iran specialist with the American Foreign Policy Council, said this report “has long been conspicuous by its absence.”

“The study is long overdue, and its delay suggests that the administration has been leery of injecting inconvenient facts into the Iran debate as it closes in on a nuclear deal with the regime in Tehran.

"The findings of the report confirm that Iran’s destructive regional activities have not abated over the past year.

"If anything, they have increased despite Iran’s dialogue with the West. The product can be seen in the battlefield victories of Yemen’s Iran-supported Houthi rebels, of the persistence of the Assad regime in Syria, and of the growing profile and capabilities of Iraq’s Shi’a militias.

“Iran’s activities represent a significant challenge to peace and security in the Middle East. The real question is what, if anything, the White House is prepared to do about it?” Berman said.