Iran’s Missile Program: A More Immediate Threat to U.S. Than Nuclear Weapons, Former Veteran Affairs Secretary Warns

Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie stated on Wednesday that Iran’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles poses a more immediate strategic threat to the United States than its nuclear program alone.

In an interview, Wilkie highlighted Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s warning that Iran is actively pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles and developing conventional weapons capable of targeting the United States.

“It is a much bigger problem,” Wilkie said when asked about Iran’s missile ambitions. “And for Benjamin Netanyahu, when he came to the White House, this was his number one priority.”

He added: “He doesn’t think that they’re within days or weeks of a nuclear weapon. What they are within a reasonably short time of doing is developing ICBM capability.”

Wilkie, who served as veterans affairs secretary and undersecretary for defense during President Donald Trump’s first term, noted that the ballistic missile program has become the chief concern for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“That has been the number one priority for the Israelis, not the nuclear program,” he said. “So that’s a smokescreen. But the ballistic missile program is certainly one that we should all be wary of.”

The former official cited intelligence indicating Tehran is accelerating its efforts to build missiles. “We think we know where these things are,” Wilkie explained. “We do know the Chinese have been offloading components at what’s left of Iran’s ports. So, they’re rapidly trying to do that.”

President Trump echoed these concerns in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, stating that Iran has “already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”

The warnings come as U.S. and Iranian diplomats remain engaged in talks aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump has been pressuring the Islamic regime to reach an agreement on its nuclear program while building a significant military presence in the region, with threats of strikes if Iran does not comply.

Rubio told reporters Wednesday that Iran’s pursuit of missile capabilities designed to reach the United States represents a growing danger beyond long-standing concerns about uranium enrichment. “Iran possesses a very large number of ballistic missiles,” Rubio said. “Particularly short-range ballistic missiles that threaten the United States and our bases in the region and our partners in the region and all of our bases in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. They also possess naval assets that threaten shipping and try to threaten the U.S. Navy.”

Rubio emphasized: “I want everybody to understand that beyond just the nuclear program, they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans if they so choose to do so.”