The United States has asked the UN Security Council to discuss the Iranian regime’s recent ballistic missile launches during a meeting on Monday, the U.S. envoy to the UN said on Friday.
The United States is “deeply concerned” about the missile tests “which are provocative and destabilizing,” U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said in a statement.
Iran’s regime fired two long-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday and similar tests were carried out on Tuesday, less than two months after the Iran nuclear deal was implemented.
Power said the Iranian regime’s military leaders had claimed that the missiles were designed to be a direct threat to Israel and added: “We condemn such threats against another UN member-state and one of our closest allies.”
Under the nuclear deal with Iran’s regime that came into force January 16, most sanctions resolutions against Tehran were annulled.
But an arms embargo and restrictions on ballistic missile technology capable of carrying a nuclear warhead remain in place, under Resolution 2231.
“We will raise these dangerous launches directly at council consultations, which we have called for, on Monday,” said Power.
“These launches underscore the need to work with partners around the world to slow and degrade Iran’s missile program,” she added.
Power added that Washington would continue to demand “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.”
The closed-door consultations on Iran will take place Monday morning. The 15-nation Security Council is scheduled to hold separate consultations on Syria.
Based in part on wire reports
