UN chief: Iran may be defying UN on missiles use, but OK on nukes
UNITED NATIONS: SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres is warning that Iran may be defying a UN call to halt ballistic missile development even as it complies with the nuclear deal with six world powers.
The UN chief says in a report to the security council that the UN is investigating Iran’s possible transfer of ballistic missiles to Houthi Shi’ite rebels in Yemen that may have been used in launches aimed at Saudi Arabia on July 22 and November 4.
Guterres said the UN was studying debris from missiles fired on those two dates.
The United States Mission to the UN said ambassador Nikki Haley would hold a news conference today in Washington to highlight its findings as well as Iran’s ‘‘destabilising activities in the Middle East region and elsewhere in the world’'.
In the report, Guterres stressed that the nuclear deal remained ‘‘the best way’' to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
He said US President Donald Trump’s October 13 decision not to certify the agreement under US law created ‘‘considerable uncertainty’' about its future.
However, Guterres added, ‘‘I am reassured that the United States has expressed its commitment to stay in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for now’’.
Trump, however, has left open the possibility of pulling out of the nuclear deal.
Guterres welcomed support for the treaty from its other parties – China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, the European Union and numerous other countries.
‘‘I encourage the United States to maintain its commitments to the plan and to consider the broader implications for the region before taking any further steps,’' he said.
‘‘Similarly, I encourage the Islamic Republic of Iran to carefully consider the concerns raised by other participants in the plan.’'
Trump has called the agreement a bad deal, and the US has focused especially on its time limits and a provision in the security council resolution that calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
–AP