US issues stern warning as Iran launches more missiles

A Qadr H long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile fired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, during a maneuver, in an undisclosed location in Iran on March 9, 2016. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard test-fired two ballistic missiles in a show of deterrence power by the Islamic Republic as US vice president Joe Biden visited Israel. AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Omid VahabzadehShow less

ABU DHABI // Washington will act if Iran violates the nuclear deal, the US vice president warned on Wednesday after Tehran test-fired two ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel.

The United States is also attempting to act “wherever [it] can find” military activity not covered by the deal, Joe Biden said during a visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The missiles, reportedly marked in Hebrew with the phrase “Israel must be wiped out”, were launched on Wednesday amid US criticism of another ballistic missile test firing by Tehran a day before. The launch coincided with Mr Biden’s meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

The US state department said Tuesday’s launch was not a violation of the terms of the nuclear deal struck last July by Tehran and world powers.

John Kirby, a US state department spokesman, said that while Tuesday’s tests were “inconsistent with [UN Security Council resolution] 2231, it’s not a violation of the Iran deal itself”, which does not place limits on Iran’s conventional military capabilities.

Resolution 2231, which was unanimously passed by the Security Council in July after the nuclear deal was signed, prohibits Iran from developing ballistic missile technology capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

Iranian officials say the missiles are for deterrence and not for carrying nuclear weapons. Iran has the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, and is the main military threat to Gulf Arab countries, as well as US forces stationed in the region.

Mr Kirby said the Washington would refer the tests to the Security Council and “press for an appropriate response”.

The US maintains unilateral sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, while resolution 2231 stipulates that countries cannot provide Iran with material for its missiles for eight years – unless the Security Council approves the transfers.

Hardliners in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who are opposed to any potential thaw in relations between Iran and the West, have said the tests are an act of defiance against US pressure over its missile programme.

In Wednesday’s tests, Iran launched Qadr-H and Qadr-F precision-guided ballistic missiles with a range of 1,400 kilometres and thus capable of reaching Israel. Tuesday’s tests, meanwhile, involved short and medium-range missiles, one with a range of 2,000km.

The head of the IRGC’s aerospace branch, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that US sanctions would have no effect on his country’s missiles programme. He added that the longer range missiles were a deterrent against Israel.

"The reason we have designed these missiles with such a range ... is to be able to hit our remote enemies, the Zionist regime," Gen Hajizadeh told Iran's Tasnim news agency. "But there is no need to fire missiles to destroy the Zionist regime as it will gradually collapse. Our main enemy is the US."

The IRGC has undertaken a number of provocative military shows of force since the nuclear deal was signed, including flying a drone near US naval ships in the Gulf, firing rockets near the ships and briefly detaining US navy sailors who strayed into Iranian waters.

The missile tests come as the government of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani tries to build new economic ties with the West after sanctions were lifted in January under the nuclear deal, and a week after reformists allied with Mr Rouhani made a strong showing in national elections.

Against this backdrop, the IRGC hardliners may be hoping to regain traction among the Iranian public with their latest show of force.

The tests also coincide with the ongoing military exercises being held in Saudi Arabia between the kingdom’s military and forces from a coalition of 34 Muslim-majority countries. The cold war for regional power between Tehran and Riyadh has intensified since the signing of the nuclear deal, and Riyadh and its GCC allies have recently increased pressure on Iran’s Lebanese militant ally Hizbollah.

In an interview with Iranian news agency Tasnim, IRGC Brig Gen Massoud Jazayeri, chief of staff of the armed forces, said Iran is committed to supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen, in the same way they have backed the regime of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.

A Saudi-led coalition of mainly Arab states, which includes the UAE, is fighting the Houthis and allied fighters in Yemen to restore the internationally-recognised government of Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

“The Islamic Republic felt its duty to help the Syrian government and nation,” Brig Gen Jazayeri said. “It also feels its duty to help the people of Yemen in any way it can, and to any level necessary.”

However, a senior Houthi official on Wednesday posted a message on Facebook asking Iran to keep out of the conflict in Yemen.

“Officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran must be silent and leave aside the exploitation of the Yemen file,” said Gen Yousef Al Feshi, a member of the Houthis’ Revolutionary Committee.

Iranian officials have said they only provide political support to the Houthis, not military assistance. But on Monday US and Australian officials said the Australian navy had last month interdicted a fishing boat 195 miles off the coast of Oman that was carrying nearly 2,000 assault rifles and 100 rocket-propelled grenades, among other materiel, NBC News reported.

The boat had an Iranian crew and was bound for Somalia, though a spokesman for US naval forces central command told NBC that the US believes the arms were destined for Houthis in Yemen.