BICOM

Media reports says that Iran has recently conducted two medium-range ballistic missile tests, breaching two United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

Both Reuters and Fox News say that unnamed United States officials told them that the tests took place on 21 November from a known missile testing site on the Iranian coast near the border with Pakistan. The missile which was tested was apparently the Ghadr-110, which has a range of 1,200 miles, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

In a similar incident in October, Iran’s Defence Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said that the Emad (pillar) precision-guided surface to surface missile had been successfully tested. The rocket has a reported range of just over 1,000 miles and can deliver a 750kg payload to within 500 metres of a target.

Such tests are a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1929, passed in 2010, which bans Iran from any ballistic missile development capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology. It is also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which compels Iran to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for eight years. It was approved the day after Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) signed July’s long-term nuclear deal which will likely see a slowdown in Iran’s nuclear development during the coming ten years in return for lifting international sanctions. The Security Council is still debating how best to respond to October’s test.

Despite these infractions, Russia’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said yesterday that the P5+1 and Iran have agreed a draft resolution to close the IAEA investigation into historic possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme and proceed with the implementation of July’s agreement. The IAEA issued its report last week, which concluded that Iran did attempt to develop nuclear weapons until 2003 and then sporadically until 2009. The IAEA Board of Governors will reportedly discuss the issue on 15 December.