On Sunday Israel roundly condemned Iran’s latest ballistic missile test, which took place last week, calling it a “provocation” and warning it was a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
“Iran is directly challenging the international community,” said Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem in a statement. “A robust response is imperative.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman went a step further, saying on Saturday the missile test was “not just a provocation and an act of defiance directed at the U.S. and its allies, including Israel.
“It’s also further proof of Iran’s aspirations to become a world power and to threaten not just the Middle East but all the countries of the free world,” Liberman warned.
“Imagine what would happen if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons,” he said. “That’s what it aspires to do, and we cannot allow it to happen.”
“The weight of the Khorramshahr missile’s warhead has been announced to be 1,800 kilograms (4,000 pounds) … making it Iran’s most powerful missile for defense and retaliation against any aggressive enemy,” Iranian IRIB state television announced when unveiling the missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometers, or 1,240 miles. It’s the third ballistic missile produced by Iran with a range long enough to strike Israel.
Although a UN Security Council resolution prohibits Iran from developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly ignored the mandate.