Prime Minister John Key has held talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif amid calls for a resumption of sanctions against Iran after recent missile tests.
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The latest tests from Iran has drawn criticism from worldwide powers and led to a 15-member United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday.
“If it’s true that these are in fact ballistic missile launches that they’ve conducted, there’s no question that that’s a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and we will take the matter up with the U.N. – absolutely, no question about it”, he said then.
Power said that the missile test merits a response from the Security Council, but that Russia’s contention that the launches did not violate Resolution 2231 all but rule out any council action.
“First of all, it doesn’t use obligatory terms that are used in the Security Council, so Iran is not obliged by 2231 it calls upon Iran”, Zarif told reporters at Australia’s Parliament House.
Mr Zarif said he hadn’t yet returned to Iran to check out those reports. The U.S., which brokered the deal with Iran that ended most worldwide sanctions in exchange for Tehran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, called the meeting.
Last December, Power appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was challenged on the failure of the Security Council to act in response to two earlier Iranian missile launches – on October 10 and November 21.
Zarif said he did not think anybody should consider Daesh or other extremist organizations as a leverage “even for temporary political gains”.
Iran has always denied seeking an atomic weapon and argues that its missiles would never be created to, nor ever carry, the bomb.
“I took the opportunity to thank Minister Zarif for the critical role he played in securing the nuclear agreement and encouraged Iran to use this opportunity to reset its relationship with the worldwide community”.
Iran’s ballistic missile program has been contentious since the nuclear deal with the United States and five other powers was struck in Vienna on July 14 past year.
But EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the tests were not in violation of its nuclear deal and that the European Union was not considering sanctions at this stage, according to Agence France-Presse. On the second test, Iran reportedly fired missiles with the words “Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth” written on them in Hebrew.
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Zarif arrived in Australia on Tuesday for a two-day visit on the last leg of his six-nation Asia-Pacific tour.
