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Eurasia
December 7, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
six major powers, it said. However, experts on the matter, including Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, pointed out that the language of the resolution “calls on” rather than “forbids” Iran from testing its missiles.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the test "provocative, threatening, and inconsistent" with the resolution.
The UN Security Council on December 4 met behind closed doors to discuss the missile test.
Iran maintains that its ballistic missile develop- ment programme is defensive and is not aiming at building a missile capable of carrying a nucle- ar payload.
On December 3, the US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, urged the European Union to im- pose new sanctions on Iran. He described the missile programme as a "grave and escalating threat."
The US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May and has since reimposed heavy sanctions on Iran. France, Germany, the UK, China and Russia have stuck with the accord, which was drawn
up to shield Iran from crippling sanctions in return for compliance with measures designed to prevent Tehran from pursuing the development of a nuclear weapon. They argue that Iran has to date complied with all of the deal’s provisions. The argument made by all the signatories to the nuclear deal apart from the US for sticking with the pact could begin to splinter if the European powers continue to demand a de-escalation of the Iranian missile programme.
There has lately been some talk from the US of what might provoke military action against Iran.
The Hill on November 29 reported the Trump administration as saying military action against Iran could be possible should the US sanctions against the country fail to curb Tehran from delivering weapons to hostile groups in the Middle East.
"We have been very clear with the Iranian regime that we will not hesitate to use military force when our interests are threatened. I think they understand that. I think they understand that very clearly," Brian Hook, the State Department special representative on Iran, was quoted as saying.
"I think right now, while we have the military option on the table, our preference is to use
all of the tools that are at our disposal diplomati- cally," he added.
In his latest attack on the US sanctions regime, which he has described as placing Iran in an “economic war” situation, President Hassan Rouhani on December 4 repeated Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz to all oil shipments if the US pushes ahead with its plan to drive Iran’s oil exports down to zero, Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The move would potentially play havoc with world oil supplies and prices given that the 21-mile- wide passageway between the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean is used in the shipping of around one-third of all oil traded by sea.