The White House is considering both multilateral and unilateral sanctions against Iran after that country conducted a third missile launch on Tuesday, according to spokesman Josh Earnest.
Asked about the possibility of new sanctions during a briefing, Earnest said the administration is reviewing the launch to determine the appropriate response. Earnest noted that the U.S. is considering raising the issue of the tests before the United Nations Security Council, but also didn’t rule out more unilateral U.S. sanctions.
“I certainly wouldn’t take a unilateral response from the Treasury Department off the table as a response,” he said.
Earnest also stressed that Iran’s test is not a violation of the nuclear agreement between Tehran, the U.S. and other world powers, the White House stressed.
“The point is, they haven’t” violated the nuclear deal, Earnest said. “… There are obviously no guarantees that Iran will fulfill its commitments but we certainly will know if they don’t, and that’s because we have the most intrusive set of inspections that have ever been imposed on a country’s nuclear program.”
Earnest spent most of his response talking about the nuclear deal itself, not the United Nations prohibitions against ballistic missile tests, and argued that the nuclear deal will help ensure Iran doesn’t use its missiles to carry nuclear warheads.
“If Iran does not have a nuclear weapon to put in a nose cone of a ballistic missile, it not only enhances the security or our allies in the region, it enhances the security of the United State,” he said.
Iranian Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ commander, said Tuesday that the ballistic missile firing was a direct response to the sanctions the U.S. imposed against Iran in January, according to the Iranian state-supported outlet Mehr News.
“[The] firing of these missiles clearly indicates the active status of IRGC missile centers across the country,” he said. “The drill made this message across to the enemies that defensive strength and national security are inviolate red lines for us.”
