Iranian Ballistic Missile Tests Could Violate Nuke Deal

Iran’s recent test firing of a ballistic missile does not violate the recent nuclear deal, Obama administration officials said on Monday. However, nuclear experts disagree and are calling on the administration to hold Iran accountable for violating international agreements barring such action.

Iran announced over the weekend that it had successfully test-fired a domestically produced long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.

Iran maintained that the test does not violate the nuclear deal, though U.S. experts quibbled with this analysis.

Asked to address the reports on Monday, John Kirby, a spokesman for the State Department, said that the administration is “aware of reports that Iran is conducting a new round of missile tests.”

U.S. nuclear experts took issue with Iran’s interpretation and said that the recent missile test is an opportunity for the Obama administration to put its foot down.

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Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, described the situation as a “test case” for the Obama administration.

“This is a clear violation of Annex B paragraph 3 of UNSCR 2231 (2015) and a test case for the Obama administration to make it clear to Iran that a violation of UNSCR 2231 will be considered a violation of the JCPOA despite Iranian regime protestations to the contrary,” Dubowitz said.

Iran is prohibited under this resolution from testing missiles and “any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”

The test came several days after Iran’s parliament issued a report declaring that Tehran would violate the JCPOA’s restrictions on weapons. A translation of the report performed by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies noted that the parliament was rejecting U.N. resolutions that are “apparently the JCPOA’s only legal backing.”

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