The United States is pressing for enforcement action against Iran after a United Nations report on December 15 found Tehran violated UN sanctions against testing nuclear-capable missiles.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, who along with representatives from Britain, France, and Germany asked for the report on Iran’s October 10 missile test, said the United States will press for enforcement.
“This council cannot allow Iran to feel that it can violate our resolutions with impunity,” she told a UN Security Council meeting considering the report from its Iran sanctions committee on December 15.
Power accused members of the council who she did not identify of refusing to take action against Iran despite evidence of several sanctions violations since Tehran signed a landmark deal to curb its nuclear weapons development in July.
“Instead of an effective, timely response, the Security Council has dithered,” she said, stressing the importance of sanctions enforcement for “a credible, enforceable nuclear deal.”
In addition to the October missile launch, Power said that nothing has been done in response to apparent violations by Iran in allowing a visit to Moscow by Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who is under a UN travel ban, and sending a banned shipment of arms that was intercepted off the coast of Oman in September.
Beyond those alleged violations, the United States is investigating reports that Iran fired a second nuclear-capable missile in a test last month in violation of UN sanctions. The White House has said it may raise that test as well before the UN.
Tehran insists that its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons and therefore don’t violate UN sanctions.
