Iran tested a new medium-range ballistic missile on November 21 in a breach of two U.N. Security Council resolutions, two USA officials said on Monday, the second since October. Russia’s envoy to the UN’s nuclear regulatory agency Vladimir Voronkov says he expects a historic deal between Iran and world powers to be implemented in January, leading to sanctions being lifted on Tehran. The launch took place from a known missile test site along the Gulf of Oman. He said it was a liquid-fuelled missile with a 1,900 km (1,180 mile) range and was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
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So far, the Security Council’s sanctions committee has not taken any action against Iran, and unnamed United Nations diplomats cited by Reuters said Monday that they had received no official notification of a new alleged violation. It followed a 2010 resolution that banned all Iranian ballistic missile tests. “As the Iran nuclear deal hands over more than $100 billion to the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism, it’s critical for the United States to do all it can to prevent Iran from escalating its support for terrorism, militancy and human-rights abuses in the Middle East and beyond”. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (also known as the Iran deal), which was agreed upon on July 14, Iran is “called upon” to cease ballistic missile testing for a period of eight years. Following that test, the White House said there were “strong indications” that Tehran “did violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that pertain to Iran’s ballistic missile activities”.
The test may reflect an effort by Iranian hardliners to derail the nuclear pact, coming on top of the recent arrests of an American citizen and USA resident, and reports that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was sentenced to an unspecified prison term following an espionage conviction.
He did not specifically confirm the launch and officials declined to comment when pressed. One of them said the missile traveled within Iranian territory. President Obama mentioned the Iranian missile test during a press conference on October 16 and said the United States was preparing to brief the UN sanctions committee.
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The Security Council is still debating how to respond to Iran’s last test in October.
