Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired several ballistic missiles on Tuesday and Wednesday, state media reported.
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Wednesday’s tests saw two Qadr-H and Qadr-F precision missiles fired from launcher trucks tucked in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran, hitting targets about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) away in the southeastern Makran area, the Guards said.
“Here’s the reality: if Iran sees it can violate United Nations missile sanctions with no outcome, it will violate this nuclear deal too”, Royce said.
“Iran’s missile program and its test-firing of missiles in the past days during a military drill are not against its nuclear commitments and the nuclear deal reached with the six powers”, Reuters quoted Jaberi-Ansari as saying.
While no new U.N. sanctions may be imminent, Western diplomats say that the United States and some of its allies could take additional punitive action in the form of unilateral national sanctions against Iran over the latest missile launches, something Washington has done previously.
Western diplomats say resolution 2231, which “calls upon” Iran to refrain from certain ballistic missile activity, offers no green light for nuclear-capable missile launches by Tehran and is therefore a clear ban. That deal eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for more worldwide oversight of the country’s nuclear program.
Vice President Joe Biden reaffirmed the Obama administration’s support for Israel Wednesday, one day after the Iranian Republic launched two ballistic missiles at a test site Tuesday, and threatened to use them against the “Zionist regime”.
“There is no need to doubt that the United States has Israel’s back”, Biden said following meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu.
“The more sanctions and pressure our enemies apply. the more we will develop our missile program”, Hajizadeh said on state television. He added that the longer range missiles were a deterrent against Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about the missile tests, a State Department spokesman said.
No phone talk was done between the two diplomats, the ministry said, Iran’s state-run IRINN TV reported March 10.
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The IRGC has undertaken a number of provocative military shows of force since the nuclear deal was signed, including flying a drone near USA naval ships in the Gulf, firing rockets near the ships and briefly detaining U.S. navy sailors who strayed into Iranian waters.
