Pompeo condemns Iran missile test
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday condemned what he described as Iran’s testing of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads as a violation of the international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.
Amid tension between Washington and Tehran over ballistic missiles, Pompeo warned in a statement released on Twitter that Iran is increasing its “testing and proliferation” of missiles and called on the Islamic Republic to “cease these activities.”
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear agreement in May and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, criticizing the deal for not including curbs on Iran’s development of ballistic missiles or its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.
Iran says its missile program is purely defensive but has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, if the United States tries to strangle Iranian oil exports. Last month, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said U.S. bases in Afghanistan, the UAE and Qatar, and U.S. aircraft carriers in the Gulf were within range.
Pompeo’s statement provided few details about the latest Iranian missile test.
“The Iranian regime has just test-fired a medium range ballistic missile that’s capable of carrying multiple warheads,” he said in the tweet.
“This test violates UNSCR 2231,” he added, citing the United Nations Security Council’s endorsement of the international nuclear agreement. “We condemn this act.”
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