US to refer Iran missile test to UN over possible violation

The US State Department has announced that it would refer Iran's firing of a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile to the United Nations Security Council for review to determine whether the test violated a UN resolution, the CNN reported.

"It's deeply concerning that this latest violation does appear to be a violation of UN Security Council resolution 1929, and we'll obviously raise this at the [Security Council] as we have done with previous launches," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

"We've seen for the past years that Iran has consistently ignored UN Security Council resolutions," he added.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that while the launch was likely a violation of a Security Council resolution, it was distinct and separate from the nuclear accord reached with Iran earlier this year.

"In contrast to the repeated violations of the UN Security Council resolution that pertains to their ballistic missile activities, we've seen that Iran over the last couple of years has demonstrated a track record of abiding by the commitments that they made in the context of the nuclear talks," he said.

Iran entered a final nuclear deal with the US and five other world powers in July that is focused on restricting Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.

UN Security Council Resolution 1929 stipulates that Iran cannot engage in any activities related to ballistic missiles.

A newer UN Security Council resolution, number 2231, implementing the deal and banning Iran from engaging in activities related to ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads is not yet in effect.

Over the weekend, state-run media reported that Iran successfully test-fired a new precision-guided, long-range missile.

Source: MENA