Do Iran’s Missiles Matter More Than Its Nuclear Potential? |
Iran’s missile arsenal is the newly identified threat to Israel and US forces in the region. In the days leading up to 29 December’s meeting between Netanyahu and President Trump, there was considerable speculation that Iran would be the primary item on the meeting’s agenda, and this ultimately proved to be the case. According to reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu briefed President Trump about the necessity and urgency of attacking Iran again. However, this time the primary threat is not its nuclear programme, but rather Iran’s growing ballistic missile stockpiles.
The meeting put to rest earlier conjecture of a rift between the two leaders over Iran, driven by President Trump’s assertion that the US has destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme, leaving no room for Israel to worry. During the media briefing, POTUS stated that the United States could absolutely and immediately support another major strike on Iran if it were to resume rebuilding its ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons programme.
The meeting signalled Israel’s success in shifting the goalposts ahead. It convinced the US that Iran's threat was never just about its nuclear capability, but also or even more so, about its missile arsenal, or anything in the future that gives Iran, a sovereign state, the ability to defend itself from a country with genocidal proclivities. According to sources, Israel is also pressing the US to reclassify Iran’s missiles as weapons of mass destruction. Tel Aviv is using the June 2025 war's experience to convince the United States that Iran's missile capabilities are as existentially threatening as its nuclear programme.
The question arises as to what is so dangerous about Iran’s missiles that they have surpassed the threat of its nuclear programme for Israel. The first factor is the evidence........