The United States called a Security Council meeting on Monday to protest the launches, which Secretary of State John Kerry called a violation of U.N. resolutions that “could invite additional sanctions”.
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He reiterated that Moscow doesn’t consider Iran’s launches as violations of resolution 2231 as it provides for no direct ban on such activities but only calls on Teheran to refrain from it. Apart from that, in his words, the resolution speaks about missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
“These missiles do not even fall within the purview of 2231 [U.N. resolution] and they are not illegal”, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said while speaking in Australia, according to Reuters, adding: “Iran will never use any means to attack any country, including our missiles”.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also said after a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers on Monday that while they discussed the missile tests, “When it comes to European Union sanctions, the issue was not raised and no member state asked for or submitted proposals in this respect”. However she said Iran’s actions could raise tensions in an already volatile region.
During Monday’s meeting, Danon displayed a photograph of one of the Iranian missiles that appeared to have an inscription that read, “Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth” in Persian and Hebrew.
Iran had announced that it conducted a series of missile tests on 8 and 9 March.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said the missiles “were created to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons” and called the test launches “dangerous, destabilizing, and provocative”.
The visit was the first by a senior Iranian minister in 13 years.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli diplomats to demand that world powers punish Iran for missile launches, his office said over the weekend. The Journal notes that this response is distinctly unlike the European response to the October and November ballistic missile tests, suggesting that the ill effects of Iran’s continued defiance may be gradually overriding optimism about its reentry into the worldwide community.
Last week, Iranian state television showed footage of two Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran, which the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said hit targets 1,400 km (870 miles) away.
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Also of discussion was Iran’s missile program, Zarif reassuring Bishop that his country’s recent test-firing of several missiles was not a threat to other countries. “Much more worrisome, however, is the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons”.
