UN to hold urgent meeting on Iran missile test at US request

 The UN Security Council scheduled urgent consultations on Tuesday on an Iranian ballistic missile test at the request of the United States.

The US Mission to the United Nations said it wanted the UN’s most powerful body to discuss Sunday’s launch of a medium-range missile.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said earlier that he did not know the “exact nature” of the test and expected to have more information later.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault voiced concern over the missile test at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Tuesday.

“France has expressed its concern at Iran’s continuation of its ballistic missile tests on several occasions,” Ayrault said.

He said the continued tests are “contrary to the spirit” of the Security Council resolution which enshrined a landmark July 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, and “hamper the process of restoring the confidence established by the Vienna agreement.”

Russia said that the test does not contravene a United Nations resolution on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“Such actions, if they took place, do not breach the resolution,” Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency, saying demands for UN talks were aimed at “heating up the situation”.

Zarif similarly warned the US against “creating new tensions” with Tehran over the tests.

“We hope that Iran’s defence programme is not used by the new US administration... as a pretext to create new tensions,” Zarif said the press conference with Ayrault.

A US defence official said the missile test ended with a “failed” re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. The official had no other details, including the type of missile. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“In light of Iran’s January 29 launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, the United States has requested urgent consultations of the Security Council,” the US mission said in a statement.

The talks on Iran were to follow a meeting on Syria scheduled for 10am (7pm UAE time).

It was the first request for council consultations made by the United States since new US Ambassador Nikki Haley took office.

US President Donald Trump has promised to strengthen ties with Israel and has sharply criticised the Iran nuclear deal that led to a lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.

Trump is due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15.

Iran is the subject of a United Nations Security Council resolution prohibiting tests of ballistic missiles designed to deliver a nuclear warhead. As part of the 2015 nuclear deal, the UN ban was prolonged by eight years, although Iran has flaunted the restriction.

A Security Council resolution adopted a few days after the 2015 nuclear agreement bars Iran from developing missiles “designed to carry nuclear warheads”.

Iran has said its missiles would never carry a nuclear warhead as it has no plans to develop atomic weapons, but military officials have insisted on expanding the country’s missile programme.

Britain, France and the United States have sought council action over Iranian missile launches last year, but Russia and China opposed discussion of possible sanctions that they argued would jeopardise the hard-fought nuclear deal.

The deal reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was looking into whether the ballistic missile test violates the US Security Council resolution.

“When actions are taken that violate or are inconsistent with the resolution, we will act to hold Iran accountable and urge other countries to do so as well,” Toner said.

Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned Iran for the missile test.

“No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security,” Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, said in a written statement

source : gulfnews