Galei Tzahal: US, Iran not discussing Tehran's missile program

The current negotiations between the US and Iran do not include discussions of Iran's missile program, said Doron Kadosh, a correspondent for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) news radio Galei Tzahal, citing a high-ranking source, Report informs.

According to him, the issue of ballistic missiles "is not on the agenda at all."

The source noted that there are concerns in Israel that if the issue of Iran's missile program is not included in the negotiations, then even if an agreement is reached, the US will not impose restrictions on missile production.

Israel also fears that the absence of restrictions could allow Iran, after a potential deal, to once again expand its missile capabilities using potentially unfrozen financial resources.

"According to military intelligence assessments, in the absence of restrictions, Iran is capable of significantly increasing its ballistic missile arsenal within several years - to a level that is considered a threat to regional stability," the source noted.

At the same time, he added that Israel has already defined threshold values, upon approaching which a military response option may be considered, since existing missile defense systems may not be able to cope with such a volume of threats.

Intelligence notes that even if the US succeeds on the nuclear part of the deal, the lack of control over the missile program leaves a high risk of a new escalation of tensions in the region in the medium term.