No US, EU objections to Iran holding nuclear-capable missiles able to reach Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

DEBKAfile Special Report December 13, 2013, 1:50 PM (IDT)

Tags:  Iranian missiles,  Geneva,  Maj.Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari,  US-Iran,

Iranian ballistic missiles

US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the provisions for Israel’s security in the future Palestinian state with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in Jerusalem Friday, Dec. 13, just two days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief Maj. Gen, Mohammad Ali Jafari laid bare an issue embodied in the Nov. 24 Geneva accord.which is of high relevance to Israel's security.  

 

After a lecture captioned “Islamic Revolution against Global Arrogance,” which he delivered at the Imam Sadegh University in Tehran Wednesday, Dec. 11, a student asked the Revolutionary Guards commander whether any of the Western powers in Geneva had asked for Iran’s missiles to be reduced.

“We will never do this,” he replied.

Asked by another student to clarify his statement that Iranian missiles can reach Israel, Jafari replied: “We are still increasing the range of our missiles, but currently the Supreme Leader has commanded that we limit the range of our missiles to 2,000 km.”

The general therefore released to the public four facts already known to Israeli, Saudi and Turkish leaders,say debkafile’s military sources:

1. The American and European negotiators in Geneva asked to discuss the ranges of Iranian ballistic missiles with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, without citing the types capable of delivering nuclear warheads. Zarif refused to discuss this.

2. The Western delegations persevered, stressing that the US and Europe were concerned over the accelerated co-production by Iran and North Korea of the Shehab-6, which has a range of 3,000-5,600 km, and when operational can reach America and most parts of Europe.

3. The US and European delegates gave the Iranians to understand that they would like to extend the six-month nuclear freeze agreed in Geneva (for which no starting date has yet been set) to apply to extra range being added to Iran’s ballistic missiles.

There was no objection, they said, to Iran retaining the Shehab missiles with a range of 1,500-2,000 km, which would be capable of striking Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. They were only concerned about extending their range to cover America or Europe.

4.  Jaafari’s remarks to students’ questions, which were most probably planted beforehand, lifted a corner of the veil concealing from the public the secret provisions of the deal with Iran on its missile arsenal. According to debkafile’s Middle East sources, officials in authority in Ankara, Riyadh and Jerusalem knew all about it.