Russia opposes sanctions on Iran for missile test

Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations says Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests were not in violation of a UN resolution and Russia will oppose imposing sanctions based on the tests.

Asked whether the Security Council should impose penalties on Iran, Vitaly Churkin said: “The clear and short answer is no.”

The council met Monday at the request of the United States to discuss the missile tests that US Ambassador Samantha Power has said were “provocative and destabilizing.”

A missile launched from the Alborz mountains in Iran on March 9, 2016, reportedly inscribed in Hebrew, ‘Israel must be wiped out.’ (Fars News)

But Churkin said Iran was not in violation of a UN resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal reached between Western powers and Tehran and calls on Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Tehran maintains that the latest missile tests, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, were not aimed at developing a nuclear capability.

Power said Iranian military leaders had claimed that the missiles were designed to be a direct threat to Israel and added: “We condemn such threats against another UN member-state and one of our closest allies.”

— AFP