Iran’s provacative Friday test-firing of a new ballistic missile capable of striking Israel with nuclear warheads threatens the free world, Israeli Defense Ministor Avigdor Liberman said on Saturday.
“This Iranian missile launch is an act of provocation and defiance against the United States and its allies, as well as an attempt to test them,” Liberman said. He added that it was “also further proof of Iranian aspirations to become a world power that threatens not only the Middle East, but all the countries of the free world.”
Hours after displaying their newest intercontinental ballistic missile in a Tehran military parade on Friday, Iran test-fired the new Khorramshahr missile capable of carrying multiple warheads a distance of 1,250 miles. This puts Israel, Saudi Arabia, India, and much of Eastern Europe within striking distance of Iran.
The test violated Iran’s agreements with the UN as expressed in the UN resolution 2231 which forbids Iran from testing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Iran has violated these agreements several times in the past resulting in U.S. economic sanctions against companies involved in the Iranian missile program. Iran denies its missile development breaches the resolution and says its missiles are for defensive purposes only and are not designed to carry nuclear weapons.
“We will promote our defensive and military power as much as we deem necessary,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at the parade, according to Press TV. “We seek no one’s permission to defend our land. Whether you like it or not we are going to help Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, and we will strengthen our missiles.”
On October 15, U.S. President Donald Trump will have to decide if Iran is complying with the agreement put in place by former President Barack Obama called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action concerning the Iranian nuclear program. If he does not certify Iranian compliance, Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the deal.
Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran was building its missile capability and accused it of exporting violence to Yemen, Syria and other parts of the Middle East, saying it was a “rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.”
Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the European Union also signed on the nuclear deal and their leaders have all announced publicly that they want the agreement with Iran to continue without sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog agency responsible for verifying compliance, has repeatedly confirmed Tehran is meeting its commitments.
On Sunday, Priime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special meeting of his security cabinet to discuss Iran’s missile test.
