(7) DPRK Study Group
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Why the West restricts some weapons programs while supporting others.
It is not about international security but rather maintaining a favourable balance of power. Regarding Korea and Iran
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France's Intervention in the Persian Gulf; Why Restricting Iran's Missile Development is Critical for the West to Maintain a Favorable Balance of Power in the Region
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Iran to open negotiations regarding its missile program, threatening sanctions against the country should it fail to curb its development of ballistic missiles. While Iran agreed to negotiations regarding its nuclear program and has allowed Western nations to monitor its nuclear facilities, the country adamantly refuses to compromise its missile program under Western pressure. While Western Nations lifted sanctions on Iran following the nuclear deal made in 2015, the United States within a week had reapplied sanctions under the pretext of seeking to curb the country's missile program. While the US has steadily increased sanctions against the country, other Western nations are likely to follow suit and reapply sanctions against Iran under new pretexts. This comes despite the fact that developing missiles is in no way contrary to international law, and is in fact guaranteed under the UN charter which grants all nations the right to self defense and military development.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated in response to the French President's statement: "France is fully aware of our country's firm position that Iran's defense affairs are not negotiable." Iran claimed that Western nations were attempting to alter the nuclear deal two years after its signing to include Iran's missile program, stating: "We have told French officials repeatedly that the nuclear deal is not negotiable and other issues will not be allowed to be added to it."
What France and other Western nations' attempts to curb Iran's missile program represent are an attempt to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Middle East. At present Western aligned Arab Gulf States maintain an overwhelming advantage both in the size of their annual military expenditures and in the makeups of their air forces. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies stated that interrogating the relevant “data makes a conclusive case that the Arab Gulf states have … an overwhelming advantage of Iran in both military spending and access to modern arms.” The combined annual military budgets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, closely Western aligned Gulf States, amount to well over $100 billion - while Iran's budget amounts to only $9 billion. Comparing the composition of their air forces, Saudi Arabia and the UAE field entirely fourth generation fleets - including the most advanced US built fourth generation air superiority fighter - the F-15SA, and the most advanced US built fourth generation - the F-16E. Iran by contrast, aside from its small fleet of around 30 operational F-14 air superiority fighters, has a largely unremarkable Air Force mostly comprised of second and third generation fighters such as the US made Vietnam War era F-5 and F-4 and the domestically manufacture Saeqeh.
Iran's only means of maintaining some form of parity with its hostile and often aggressive neighbors is to invest in asymmetric warfare capabilities. Much like North Korea, the country has focused on developing advanced ballistic, surface to air, and anti ship missiles - and most of its missile designs are in fact based heavily on Korean technology which Iran has obtained as part of the countries' close military cooperation. Missile capabilities allow the Iranian military to neutralize enemy bases, fighters and ships using systems which cost a fraction of the cost of their targets. A $100 million F-15SA is vulnerable to a barrage of SAM missiles costing just $1 million, while a warships costing hundreds of millions are also vulnerable to strikes from just a dozen cruise missiles costing under $1 million each.
Without weapons of mass destruction, which are also highly cost effective to develop relative to their battlefield impact, Iran's advanced missile program remains the primary asset which balances the superiority of arms of its Arab rivals. It is therefore strongly in the interests of the West not only to ensure that Iran develops no weapons of mass destruction, but also critically to prevent it from developing its missile program to gain even conventional parity with the Western aligned Gulf States. Should Iran give up its missile program, it would to a large extent be at the mercy of the Gulf States, as well as its other Western backed adversary Israel. It is for this reason that France has joined the United States and other Western powers in doing their utmost to stifle Iran's missile program, including sanctions against the country, to ensure a balance of power in the Persian Gulf, and in the wider Middle East, which favors the West's allies.
Shown below: Iranian Missile Test; Iranian Missile Capabilities; French President Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman; Saudi Arabian F-15SA; Iranian Intermediate and Long Range Missiles - all based on and closely resembling North Korean platforms (x3); United Arab Emirates F-16E.
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Imperial Military Watch added 8 new photos.Like Page
6 hrs
France's Intervention in the Persian Gulf; Why Restricting Iran's Missile Development is Critical for the West to Maintain a Favorable Balance of Power in the Region
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Iran to open negotiations regarding its missile program, threatening sanctions against the country should it fail to curb its development of ballistic missiles. While Iran agreed to negotiations regarding its nuclear program and has allowed Western nations to monitor its nuclear facilities, the country adamantly refuses to compromise its missile program under Western pressure. While Western Nations lifted sanctions on Iran following the nuclear deal made in 2015, the United States within a week had reapplied sanctions under the pretext of seeking to curb the country's missile program. While the US has steadily increased sanctions against the country, other Western nations are likely to follow suit and reapply sanctions against Iran under new pretexts. This comes despite the fact that developing missiles is in no way contrary to international law, and is in fact guaranteed under the UN charter which grants all nations the right to self defense and military development.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated in response to the French President's statement: "France is fully aware of our country's firm position that Iran's defense affairs are not negotiable." Iran claimed that Western nations were attempting to alter the nuclear deal two years after its signing to include Iran's missile program, stating: "We have told French officials repeatedly that the nuclear deal is not negotiable and other issues will not be allowed to be added to it."
What France and other Western nations' attempts to curb Iran's missile program represent are an attempt to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Middle East. At present Western aligned Arab Gulf States maintain an overwhelming advantage both in the size of their annual military expenditures and in the makeups of their air forces. A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies stated that interrogating the relevant “data makes a conclusive case that the Arab Gulf states have … an overwhelming advantage of Iran in both military spending and access to modern arms.” The combined annual military budgets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, closely Western aligned Gulf States, amount to well over $100 billion - while Iran's budget amounts to only $9 billion. Comparing the composition of their air forces, Saudi Arabia and the UAE field entirely fourth generation fleets - including the most advanced US built fourth generation air superiority fighter - the F-15SA, and the most advanced US built fourth generation - the F-16E. Iran by contrast, aside from its small fleet of around 30 operational F-14 air superiority fighters, has a largely unremarkable Air Force mostly comprised of second and third generation fighters such as the US made Vietnam War era F-5 and F-4 and the domestically manufacture Saeqeh.
Iran's only means of maintaining some form of parity with its hostile and often aggressive neighbors is to invest in asymmetric warfare capabilities. Much like North Korea, the country has focused on developing advanced ballistic, surface to air, and anti ship missiles - and most of its missile designs are in fact based heavily on Korean technology which Iran has obtained as part of the countries' close military cooperation. Missile capabilities allow the Iranian military to neutralize enemy bases, fighters and ships using systems which cost a fraction of the cost of their targets. A $100 million F-15SA is vulnerable to a barrage of SAM missiles costing just $1 million, while a warships costing hundreds of millions are also vulnerable to strikes from just a dozen cruise missiles costing under $1 million each.
Without weapons of mass destruction, which are also highly cost effective to develop relative to their battlefield impact, Iran's advanced missile program remains the primary asset which balances the superiority of arms of its Arab rivals. It is therefore strongly in the interests of the West not only to ensure that Iran develops no weapons of mass destruction, but also critically to prevent it from developing its missile program to gain even conventional parity with the Western aligned Gulf States. Should Iran give up its missile program, it would to a large extent be at the mercy of the Gulf States, as well as its other Western backed adversary Israel. It is for this reason that France has joined the United States and other Western powers in doing their utmost to stifle Iran's missile program, including sanctions against the country, to ensure a balance of power in the Persian Gulf, and in the wider Middle East, which favors the West's allies.
Shown below: Iranian Missile Test; Iranian Missile Capabilities; French President Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman; Saudi Arabian F-15SA; Iranian Intermediate and Long Range Missiles - all based on and closely resembling North Korean platforms (x3); United Arab Emirates F-16E.
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