Iran tested a new type of ballistic missile that a senior commander claims can carry multiple warheads, in defiance of a United Nations resolution banning such tests.
“As it was observed, the missile has become smaller in size and more tactical, and it will be operational in the near future,” an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander told state-run PressTV before the test on Friday.
That boast came in the context of a military parade that displayed the missile, followed within hours by the test. The demonstration could motivate President Trump to declare the regime out of compliance with the nuclear deal, a topic that dominated the U.N. General Assembly this week. But the Iranians are also signaling they will defy such a move.
“Trump’s concerns are not going to stop Iran’s upward mobility into field battles and outer space. Any doubters should ask those who designed, built, and unveiled the new ballistic missile, called Khorramshahr, on Friday,” an editorial published by the semiofficial Fars News agency declared.
U.S. critics of the Iran deal have pointed to the regime’s ballistic missile tests as evidence that the pact, negotiated by then-President Barack Obama’s team along with leading European powers, isn’t in the American national interest. The missile tests aren’t directly banned under the nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. But a U.N. Security Council resolution accompanying the deal declared that “Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles” during the lifetime of the pact.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised to continue developing ballistic missiles. “We will strengthen not only our missiles but also our air, land, and sea forces,” he said, per Fars. “When it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission.”
