Iranian Khalij Fars missile on transporter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The nuclear deal reached by Iran and world powers to lift international sanctions against the Islamic Republic will be a boon to the country’s missile program, a new study published by Israeli think tank the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs revealed on Monday.

“Without connection to the nuclear talks, Iran will keep developing its programs for missiles and rockets of various ranges as it has done so far with considerable success despite the weapons embargo,” concluded Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall.

Segall said Iran’s missiles program, which is designed to target Israel, U.S. military installations in the Middle East, Arab states it considers hostile such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Europe and even the United States, will remain the backbone of its “national security concept.”

As it proceeds to reap the financial benefits of lifted sanctions, Iran will boost its missile, rocket and unmanned aerial vehicles programs and share its technology and hardware with terrorist proxies spanning several Middle Eastern countries, including notably Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Iranian officials across the board, both political and military, have rejected any provisions in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the formal name for the Iran deal struck in Vienna on July 14 — that restrict Iran’s development of its missiles program, which many in Iran consider a so-called red line.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said its ballistic missiles program is out of bounds for U.N.-imposed restrictions because it is a non-nuclear defense program, though critics contend intercontinental ballistic missiles are the most likely method Iran would employ to deliver a nuclear payload.