U.S. officials say Iran test-fired a ballistic
missile on Sunday, the first known test since President Trump took office which could provide an early assessment of how the new administration will
interpret and enforce the terms of the international deal to curb Iran's
nuclear weapons capabilities.
In a statement to
the media on Monday, Iran's foreign minister insisted that Iran's missile
program is not part of the nuclear agreement, even as he declined to confirm or
deny the missile test. NPR's Peter Kenyon reported that Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad-Zarif said the missile program is purely defensive.
Sen.
Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement calling the test a violation of a U.N.
Security Council resolution passed as a side agreement to the 2015 nuclear
deal. The statement did not provide any additional information on the reported
test, instead linking to a Fox News article quoting unnamed U.S. officials. White House press
secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that he did not know the "exact nature"
of the test, including the type of missile used.
On Monday, the U.S. mission to the United Nations wrote in a statement, "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," AFP reported.
On Monday, the U.S. mission to the United Nations wrote in a statement, "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," AFP reported.
The
nuclear deal between Iran and six countries, including the U.S., was reached in July 2015,
and required Iran to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting
of economic sanctions.The
specific issue of ballistic missile tests came up during the nuclear
negotiations. A U.N. Security Council resolution in 2010 had
expressly prohibited Iran from "any activity related to ballistic missiles
capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches."
In the final days before the nuclear deal was reached, the biggest remaining obstacle was Iran's desire to have U.N. weapons and missile sanctions rolled back, as The Two-Way reported.Then-Secretary of State John Kerry eventually agreed to a missile-specific side agreement to the nuclear accord. In place of an outright prohibition on missile tests, the agreement stated that Iran was "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."
A recently released status report on the nuclear deal and missile program from the International Crisis Group think-tank described the missile language as "non-binding," and concluded "Controversy and concerns over issues outside the nuclear accord, mainly Iran's growing regional posture and ballistic-missile tests, have often overshadowed that the [nuclear accord's] two key components restricting and rigorously monitoring Iran's nuclear program and sanctions relief are working and delivering concrete results."
In the final days before the nuclear deal was reached, the biggest remaining obstacle was Iran's desire to have U.N. weapons and missile sanctions rolled back, as The Two-Way reported.Then-Secretary of State John Kerry eventually agreed to a missile-specific side agreement to the nuclear accord. In place of an outright prohibition on missile tests, the agreement stated that Iran was "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."
A recently released status report on the nuclear deal and missile program from the International Crisis Group think-tank described the missile language as "non-binding," and concluded "Controversy and concerns over issues outside the nuclear accord, mainly Iran's growing regional posture and ballistic-missile tests, have often overshadowed that the [nuclear accord's] two key components restricting and rigorously monitoring Iran's nuclear program and sanctions relief are working and delivering concrete results."
Acting
State Department spokesman Mark Toner told The Associated Press on Monday that
the U.S. was looking into whether Sunday's reported missile test violated the
side agreement, and that the U.S. would "hold Iran accountable" if it
did. The
disagreement about what is and isn't allowed under the agreement cuts both
ways. After the nuclear deal lifted many sanctions on Iran last year, the U.S.
government imposed new sanctions specifically targeting the country's ballistic
missile program, as we reported.
"Iran
and the U.S. disagree over whether such penalties violate the nuclear
accord," NPR's Camila Domonoske reported at the time. Iranian officials
warned the U.S. that financial penalties would be viewed by Iran's leader as a
violation of the nuclear deal, but U.S. officials contended that non-nuclear
missile program sanctions fell outside the accord. President
Trump has attacked the nuclear deal. Addressing the pro-Israel group AIPAC in
March during the presidential campaign, he said, "My No. 1 priority is to
dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran."
Later,
however, Trump advocated for renegotiating some parts of the deal or treating
it as he would a bad business contract, "policing that contract so tough
that they don't have a chance," Peter Kenyon reported last fall.
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