Iran has right to self-defense: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Jim W. Dean, the managing editor of Veterans Today from Atlanta, to discuss Iran's right to develop a ballistic missile program. 

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: It is quite clear that ever since the nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1 there has been concerted effort to halt or put limitations on Iran’s ballistic missile program. Why do you think that is so?

Dean: That is very simple. Under the US defense plan or offense plan depending how you look at it, it prefers that all potential adversaries have no defense or retaliation capacity to preempt a strike. And I think what is going on here is for the US because the Saudis and some of the [Persian] Gulf states were so angry at the US agreeing to the nuclear deal with Iran that the US basically promised them to try to assuage them that they were trying to keep a handle on Iran's missile program because really the defensive threat for Iran is that any one attacks it particularly if [Persian] Gulf states are involved that Iran can retaliate to them very very quickly and make the price too high for them to actually do attack Iran. In the key today with [sic] conventional weapons would be destroying military and oil infrastructure which would make the price of initiating hostilities against Iran devastatingly expensive and be a deterrent and under international law every country has the right to defend itself. So this is just something that the US is doing for show and of course Iran has the right to test missiles and make sure that they have an operational and a good defense.

Press TV: It is the principle of the matter that bothers me over here that Iran has agreed to cooperate with the international community to bring out more transparency than is required for any other country and at the same time it is not being allowed to defend itself?

Dean: Well that is true, and on the other issue you look at it; Saudi Arabia has not allowed inspectors to come in and look into their hidden nuclear program neither has Israel who is also a very close ally of the US and neither has Germany really opened itself up to supplying the nuclear capable dolphin submarines that can launch nuclear-tipped cruise missiles also for preemptive strike.

So, If there is anyone that has a record of trying to be a surreptitious first strike candidate it is the West, the US and those countries that I have mentioned not Iran because Iran basically wants to do business the last thing in the world they are going to want to do is start a war with anybody, but based on what’s happened to Iran it has the right and a duty to be able to defend its people and advertise that it can do that.  

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