UNITED NATIONS — The U.S., along with three European allies, wrote to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday, warning the UN not to back down in the face of Iranian aggression after the regime launched a rocket last week that has the potential to be converted into a ballistic missile.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement, “Our friends and allies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany join us in calling out and condemning Iran’s destructive and threatening actions. The world must not allow Iran to act in defiance of the Security Council and its resolutions. The United States will be vigilant in ensuring that Iran is held accountable for such behavior.”
The letter, a copy of which was seen by Breitbart News, warns that the launch is the latest move by Iran that is “inconsistent” with Security Council Resolution 2231 — the 2015 resolution that affirmed the controversial Iran nuclear deal. That resolution says in part:
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, until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier.
In this context, the letter argues that the rocket system launched last week has a range of over 300 kilometers and “enough payload capacity to carry a nuclear warhead. … The technologies necessary for the conception, the fabrication and the launch of space launch vehicles are closely related to those of ballistic missiles, in particular to those of an intercontinental ballistic missile.”
The letter demands the Council insist on “full implementation” of the resolution, and requests that Guterres “report fully and thoroughly on Iran’s ballistic missile and space launch activity.”
President Trump has firmly opposed the Iran deal and promised to scrap it. Trump said recently that, although the U.S. recertified Iran’s compliance, he believes they are in violation of the deal.
In a statement to the Security Council on Wednesday, Haley noted that Iran has funded and assisted terror groups like Iran-backed Hezbollah and unless the UN cracks down on such behavior, it is likely to continue.
“As long as we allow the Iranian regime to violate this Council’s prohibitions with impunity, it will be a source of weapons to terrorist groups that will only grow in volume and destructive capability. The United States will continue to raise this issue of Iranian non-compliance with international obligations at every opportunity,” she said.
Haley has made calling out UN inaction a cornerstone of her term as ambassador. She recently criticized Council members for failing to act on North Korea, and last week highlighted the Council’s focus on Israel while ignoring Iran and Hezbollah.
“But truth be told, the Security Council often makes the Middle East more complicated than it actually is. It obsesses over Israel,” she said, “and it refuses to acknowledge one of the chief sources of conflict and killing in the Middle East – that is, Iran and its partner militia, Lebanese Hezbollah.”
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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