The United States is deeply concerned about Iran’s recent ballistic missile launches. In a public statement on March 11, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power called them “provocative and destabilizing.”
Iranian media reported two rounds of missile tests on consecutive days--March 8 and 9. Ambassador Power noted that “Iranian military leaders reportedly claimed that these missiles are designed to be a direct threat to Israel. We condemn such threats against another UN Member State and one of our closest allies,” said Ambassador Power.
UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran not to undertake any launches of ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. Ambassador Power said the United States will raise these “dangerous launches” by Iran at the Security Council.
In January, the U.S. imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program after U.N. experts determined that an October 2015 missile test by Iran had violated Security Council Resolution 1929.
White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest noted recently that a key reason the United States led the way to negotiate and implement a diplomatic agreement preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was the knowledge that Iran is “working aggressively to try to enhance its ballistic missile capability.”
Preventing them from being able to nuclearize their missiles, Mr. Earnest said, is important to the national security of the United States and of our allies and partners in the region.
Ambassador Power emphasized that the recent missile launches by Iran “underscore the need to work with partners around the world to slow and degrade Iran’s missile program. We will therefore continue to insist on full implementation of Resolution 2231, which expressly prohibits third-party support to Iran’s ballistic missile program, as we also consider our appropriate national response.”
