TEHRAN – Professor Paul Pillar, a former deputy chief of counter-terrorism at the CIA, says “regional rivals of Iran want to limit this Iranian military capability for the same general reasons they would like to limit any Iranian military capability.”

“They would rather not see an advantage for Iran in any possible future military conflict with Iran,” Pillar tells the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview.
Pillar says the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “does not speak directly to the issue of the Iranian missile program. The agreement does not limit the program, nor does the agreement preclude separate international efforts to limit the program.”
Following is the text of the interview with Paul Pillar:
Q: Why do some countries try to limit Iran’s missile program?
A: Regional rivals of Iran want to limit this Iranian military capability for the same general reasons they would like to limit any Iranian military capability. They would rather not see an advantage for Iran in any possible future military conflict with Iran. Many people in more distant countries in the West fear that longer-range Iranian missiles might someday be used against those countries. They especially fear the possible use of such missiles to deliver unconventional and specifically nuclear weapons, if the recently concluded nuclear agreement were to break down. This fear may not correspond to actual developments in Iran's missile program, and it does not take adequate account of what the nuclear agreement has achieved, but the fears have been fanned by some political leaders, and many members of the public genuinely feel such fear. Finally, some political leaders who opposed the nuclear agreement all along see disagreements over ballistic missiles as a possible way to cause the agreement to unravel.
Q: Does the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action really limit Iran’s missile program?
A: The JCPOA does not speak directly to the issue of the Iranian missile program. The agreement does not limit the program, nor does the agreement preclude separate international efforts to limit the program.
Q: Do you think the testing of medium-range missiles by Iran is a violation of the 1929 resolution?
A: Yes, the missile tests were contrary to that resolution of the United Nations Security Council. The resolution will soon be replaced, however, upon implementation of nuclear agreement, by a new UN resolution that will carry softer language in appealing to Iran to limit its missile activity.
Q: Do you think that the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia will affect the implementation of the JCPOA?
A: Saudi Arabia was not party to the nuclear agreement, and the Saudi-Iranian tension will not directly affect implementation of the agreement. There may, however, be indirect effects, in that the tensions encourage hardliners in the West to push for measures aimed at Iran that Iranian leaders may come to see as a violation of the agreement. Such measures would most likely include new sanctions. Anything that looks like, or can be described as, Iranian involvement in increasing tension and conflict in the Middle East strengthens the political ability of hardliners to enact more sanctions. The tensions also strengthen the hand of Iranian hardliners to undertake actions that in turn appear threatening in the West.
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Saudi Arabia was not party to the nuclear agreement, and the Saudi-Iranian tension will not directly affect implementation of the agreement. There may, however, be indirect effects, in that the tensions encourage hardliners in the West to push for measures aimed at Iran that Iranian leaders may come to see as a violation of the agreement.