The US and European allies on Friday sharpened their tone on Iran, demanding that it immediately halt ballistic missile tests, a day after it tested a rocket carrying a satellite.
With relations with Iran already tense, the US Department of the Treasury imposed fresh sanctions, singling out six companies owned or controlled by Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which it said was central to the Islamic republic’s missile program, freezing their US assets and barring US citizens from dealing with them.
Foreign financial institutions could face punitive measures if they deal with the blacklisted firms, it added.
Photo: AFP/ Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
The group was already under UN, US and EU sanctions.
The White House also indicated that US President Donald Trump would sign into law a bill passed by both houses of US Congress endorsing sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In a joint statement, Britain, France, Germany and the US condemned Tehran’s “provocative” and “destabilizing” action, saying that the test was in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
“We call on Iran not to conduct any further ballistic missile launches and related activities,” they added.
Resolution 2231 was passed two years ago to endorse a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US.
It lifted economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
The resolution called on Iran not to test ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and an arms embargo remained in place.
The four Western governments have written UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about their “concerns,” the statement said.
The British, French and German governments are discussing the issues in talks with Iran, it added.
The US has had no diplomatic ties with the Islamic republic since 1980, and Trump has halted the direct contacts with Tehran initiated by former US president Barack Obama.
Iran denied all accusations against it and said that it has “proven its compliance with the nuclear deal” as repeatedly confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Iran does not recognize any limits to its scientific and technological progress and will not wait for the approval or permission of any country regarding the activities of its scientists and experts,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said.
“Tests regarding the launch of satellite carrier rockets are Iran’s definitive right and in full compliance with our country’s international commitments,” he added.
At UN headquarters in New York, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley expressed mistrust of Iran.
“Iran’s widespread support for terrorists tells us we can’t trust them. Iran’s breaking its obligation on missile testing tells us we can’t trust them. Yesterday’s launch proves that yet again,” she said.
Despite his electoral promise to tear apart what he once called “the worst deal ever,” Trump has so far respected the nuclear agreement, a diplomatic success for his predecessor that advanced multilateralism and nonproliferation.
It is unclear whether Trump’s administration will continue to certify every three months that Iran is respecting the deal, or keep off economic sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program.
European countries have said the nuclear and ballistic issues should be treated separately.
However, the joint statement said that Iran’s latest test featured technology related to “ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”
In unveiling the new US sanctions, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said they “underscore the United States’ deep concerns with Iran’s continued development and testing of ballistic missiles and other provocative behavior.”
He warned that Washington would “continue to aggressively counter Iran’s ballistic missile-related activity, whether it be a provocative space launch, its development of threatening ballistic missile systems, or likely support to Yemeni Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia such as occurred this past weekend.”
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