London, Washington-A US State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said Washington will review the firing of several missiles by Iran and, if confirmed, will raise it in the UN Security Council and seek an “appropriate response”.
“We also continue to aggressively apply our unilateral tools to counter threats from Iran’s missile program,” Toner added, in a possible reference to additional US sanctions.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has test-fired several ballistic missiles challenging a United Nations’ resolution and drawing a threat of a diplomatic response from the United States.
Two months ago, Washington imposed sanctions against businesses and individuals linked to Iran’s missile program over a test of the medium-range “Emad missile” carried out in October 2015.
The Guards had fired several missiles from silos across the country, though they only showed footage of one. “The missiles struck a target 700km away,” said Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s aerospace arm.
Hajizadeh added that sanctions would not stop Iran from developing its ballistic missiles, which it regards as a cornerstone of its conventional deterrent.
“Our main enemies are imposing new sanctions on Iran to weaken our missile capabilities. However, they should know that the Iranian nation, Revolutionary Guards and other armed forces refuse to bow to their excessive demands,” Hajizadeh was quoted saying.
USA and French officials said that a missile test by Iran would violate UN Security Council resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to conduct “any activity” related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Tuesday’s test was intended “to show Iran’s deterrent power and also the Islamic Republic’s ability to confront any threat against the [Islamic] Revolution, the state and the sovereignty of the country”, the IRGC’s commander said.