Such phrases have been emblazoned on Iranian missiles before, but this test comes shortly after the implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers, including the U.S., and follows similar drills in recent days.
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Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari defended the missile tests in comments to the official IRNA news agency on Thursday, saying the missiles were “conventional defensive instruments and they were merely for legitimate defense”.
Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. would act against Iran if the missile tests were confirmed. “Their level of development – with apparently North Korean cooperation – allows them to threaten the region”, Hayden said.
Biden spoke after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who forcefully opposed the nuclear accord with Iran.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 1929, Iran is prohibited from working on ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.
“Iran’s missile programme will not stop under any circumstances”. On Wednesday, the IRGC fired two new ballistic missiles from the northern part of the country that hit the southeastern part, traveling a distance of 870 miles.
Ansari says the test-firing “did not defy the Security Council resolution”. Iran has conducted a number of other ballistic missile tests this week. “Iran will not turn into Yemen, Iraq or Syria”, Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh told state TV on late on Wednesday.
One of the two had “Israel must be wiped off the Earth” printed in Hebrew on it, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.
“The missiles fired today are the results of sanctions”.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said she was “deeply concerned” by Iran’s long-range ballistic missile tests and called for fresh sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
It hasn’t even been a year since President Obama announced a historic agreement with Iran last July, but according to the Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo, Iran is threatening to walk away from the deal. In the time since the deal, however, hard-liners in Iran’s military have made several shows of strength. In January, the United States imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the missile program.
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The Iranian move on Wednesday came despite warning from the U.S. State Department after Tuesday’s missile tests that Washington continues to “aggressively apply our unilateral tools to counter threats from Iran’s missile program”, a possible reference to additional U.S. sanctions.
