August 14, 2019 | The Jerusalem Post

Swiss intel report: Iran will wait Trump gov’t out on nuclear pact

"Iran will not abandon its ballistic missile program... which already has targeted short-range missiles."
August 14, 2019 | The Jerusalem Post

Swiss intel report: Iran will wait Trump gov’t out on nuclear pact

"Iran will not abandon its ballistic missile program... which already has targeted short-range missiles."

Switzerland’s Intelligence Service of the Federation revealed in its recent report that the Islamic Republic of Iran will stay in the nuclear deal and wait out the November 2020 US election in the hope that US President Donald Trump suffers an electoral defeat.

The Jerusalem Post
 examined the 79-page document, which cited Iran’s clerical regime 50 times, and included sections on Tehran’s nuclear, missile, terrorism, espionage and cyber spy activities.

“The Iranian leadership will try to wait President Trump out with strategic patience. Iran will continue to adhere to the provisions of the nuclear agreement that ended, in 2016, its far-reaching international political isolation. But Iran will also continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the region, albeit with much less financial commitment. Iran will not abandon its ballistic missile program… which it already has targeted short-range missiles,” said the intelligence document.

The Swiss intelligence findings were disclosed in May. However, the conduct of Iran’s regime can be viewed as refuting some of the key conclusions in the document. In July, Iran’s rulers violated the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), via increased uranium enrichment from the agreed upon 3.7% level to 5%.

The rise in enriched uranium puts Iran’s regime back on course to develop atomic weapons. If the regime hits the 20% level of enriched uranium, the threshold to building a nuclear bomb at a rapid-fire pace could be reached.

A British Foreign Office spokesman said in July that, “Iran has broken the terms of the JCPOA.” The plan was designed to temporarily curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

In May, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said that his country would no longer comply with the 300 kg. enriched uranium cap outlined in the nuclear deal.

The Swiss intelligence officials wrote that “Iran is expected to remain in the JCPOA as long as possible and wait for a new administration in Washington. This keeps the nuclear program under control. In the missile sector, Iran will continue its efforts to improve the precision of its longer range missiles. For an increase in the range over the set limit of 2,000 km. – allegedly from revolutionary leader [Ali] Khamenei for political reasons – is [not possible] for technical reasons.”

Switzerland currently represents US diplomatic interests in the Islamic Republic. According to the Swiss intelligence report, the officials wrote: “In the target countries of proliferation – Pakistan, Iran, Syria (possible replacement for chemical weapons program) and North Korea – the situation has not changed.”

Syria’s regime under President Bashar Assad has waged chemical warfare attacks against his population.

The intelligence affirms that the goals of advancing nuclear weapons programs or obtaining an atomic weapons device in the case of Iran remains a lethal threat.

According to the document, “The Syrian armed forces and personnel are weak and only limited in their offensive operation. “They therefore continue to be dependent on support from Russia’s military, from Iranian finances and Iranian led militias.”

The report noted that the Iranian regime does not shy away from attempted terrorist attacks.

Tehran’s foreign policies were also termed in the report as “radically anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Saudi.”

Benjamin Weinthal is a European correspondent at The Jerusalem Post and a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 

Issues:

Iran Iran Global Threat Network Iran Missiles Iran Nuclear Iran Sanctions Russia Syria