I don't know what this think-tank's agenda is, but they are not telling the whole story. The Iranians have already lofted a satellite. The only difference between a satellite and a ballistic missile is weight and velocity. The same lift capacity in a vehicle that can loft a few dozen pound payload into low Earth orbit can loft a much heavier payload to a lower velocity. It doesn't achieve orbit, instead falling back to Earth in the familiar ballistic arc. I could work through the physics, but you get the idea: you trade weight for distance, with orbit being the ultimate distance.
This could be an effort to give the obama administration cover for stopping or slowing development and deployment of the European based components of our missile shield.
I agree with you.