Al-Monitor | Seyed Hossein Mousavian: In remarks on Oct. 13 when decertifying Iranian compliance with the July 2015 nuclear deal, US�President Donald Trump called on Congress to address the �near total silence on�Iran�s missile program� and prevent it from �developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.� Congress has since�floated bills�that would not only�impose further sanctions�on Iran for its missiles, but would also�condition America�s commitment to the nuclear deal on Iran�s missile policies.


While the European Union and the United States differ on the nuclear deal, they have taken a common position on Iran�s missile capability, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Nov. 9�that Iran's missile program�should be restricted, either via�negotiations or sanctions.

US�and European assumptions about Iran's�missiles�often fail, however, to consider the political, legal, defensive�and regional security contexts of the program. To hedge the nuclear deal�s fate on such a misguided understanding of Iran�s missile ambitions only serves to doom the deal and reinforce the rationale behind Iran�s missile program in the minds of decision-makers in Tehran.

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