The U.N. Security Council has held an emergency meeting Tuesday, at the request of the United States, to discuss Iran’s latest ballistic missile test.
The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said Monday it wanted the U.N.’s most powerful body to talk about Sunday’s launch of a medium-range missile, which defies U.N. sanctions.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Dannon called for the Security Council to “act immediately in response to these Iranian actions which endanger not only Israel, but the entire Middle East.”
Iran’s missile test, the first under Donald Trump’s presidency, occurred Sunday at a well-known test site outside Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran.
The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding, in a failed test of a reentry vehicle, officials said. Iran defense minister Brigadier Gen. Hossein Dehqan said in September that Iran would start production of the missile.
U.N. resolution 2231 — put in place days after the Iran nuclear deal was signed — calls on the Islamic Republic not to conduct such tests. However, this is at least Iran’s second such test since July. The resolution bars Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years and went into effect July 20, 2015.
Iran is “called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” according to the text of the resolution.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was looking into whether the ballistic missile test violates the U.S. 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.
