The medium-range Emad rocket that Iran’s regime tested in October was a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, which makes it a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, a team of sanctions monitors said in a confidential new report, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday.
The conclusion of the council’s Panel of Experts on Iran will likely lead to calls for expanding sanctions against Tehran in Washington and some other Western capitals, Reuters wrote. The White House said on Tuesday that it would not rule out additional steps against Tehran over the missile test.
“On the basis of its analysis and findings the Panel concludes that Emad launch is a violation by Iran of paragraph 9 of Security Council resolution 1929,” the panel said in its report.
Reuters on Tuesday reviewed the 10-page report, which was dated Dec. 11 and went to members of the United Nations Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee in recent days.
The report said the panel considers ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons to be those that can deliver at least a 500 kg payload within a range of at least 300 km.
“The Panel assesses that the launch of the Emad has a range of not less than 1,000 km with a payload of at least 1,000 kg and that Emad was also a launch ‘using ballistic missile technology’,” the report said.
The launch took place on Oct. 10, according to the report. The panel noted that Iranian rocket launches from 2012 and 2013 also violated the U.N. ban on ballistic missile tests.
The U.N. report could put President Barack Obama’s administration in an awkward position, since Iran’s regime has said that any new sanctions would jeopardize a July 14 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. But if Washington failed to call for sanctions it would likely be perceived as weakness, Reuters wrote.
Asked about the panel’s report, British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters it was “absolutely crucial that the Security Council upholds its responsibilities and does respond effectively to what appears to have been a breach.”
The Obama administration would not rule out taking additional steps over Tehran’s missile test if security officials determined they would benefit U.S. national security, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
Asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions against Iran’s regime over the October missile test, Earnest told reporters President Barack Obama would not stand in the way if U.S. officials deemed such measures useful.
Security Council resolution 1929, which bans ballistic missile tests, was adopted in 2010 and remains valid until the nuclear deal is implemented.
Under that deal, most sanctions on Iran’s regime will be lifted in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. According to a July 20 resolution endorsing the deal, Tehran is still “called upon” to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years.
The experts’ report noted that ballistic missile launches would still be covered by the July 20 resolution.
