Pentagon Dials Back Longstanding Assessment That Iran Could Test ICBM By 2015

July 9, 2014

Publication: 

Inside Defense

Related Country: 

  • United States

The U.S. Department of Defense no longer assesses that Iran could flight-test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the United States by 2015, which had been the judgment held by U.S. intelligence since 1999. Instead, an unclassified summary of the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on Iranian military power from January 2014 noted that Iran has publicly stated it may deploy a space launch vehicle by 2015, and that such a space launch vehicle could be capable of ICBM ranges if configured as a ballistic missile.