US seeks UN ban on Iran ballistic missiles

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the UN Security Council yesterday that Washington would seek to work with the 15-member body to reimpose ballistic missile restrictions on Iran.

He urged the UN to tighten restrictions on Iran’s missiles, saying Tehran had hundreds of projectiles that could strike US allies. Pompeo was in New York for the Security Council meeting on Iran.

“We risk the security of our people if Iran continues stocking up on ballistic missiles,” Pompeo told the Council.

“We risk escalation of conflict in the region if we fail to restore deterrence. And we convey to all other malign actors that they too can defy the Security Council with impunity if we do nothing,” he said.

He also said a UN arms embargo on Tehran should not be lifted in 2020 and called on the Security Council to establish “inspection and interdiction measures, in ports and on the high seas, to thwart Iran’s continuing efforts to circumvent arms restrictions.”

The UN said in a report that was discussed yesterday by the Security Council that more suspected Iranian-made weapons had been found in Yemen. The report said his staff examined two container launch units for anti-tank guided missiles recovered by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. “The Secretariat found that they had characteristics of Iranian manufacture,” the report said.