U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called for sanctions against
Iran after the
Islamic Republic brushed off U.S. concerns and test-fired two ballistic missiles that it said were designed to be able to hit
Israel.
Iranian state television showed footage of two
Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran, which the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (
IRGC) said hit targets 1,400 km (870 miles) away.
Iranian agencies said the missiles were stamped with the
Hebrew words, "Israel should be wiped from the pages of history," though the inscription could not be seen on any photographs.
Clinton, a former secretary of state under
President Barack Obama, said she was "deeply concerned" by the tests, the second round of Iranian missile launches in two days.
"Iran should face sanctions for these activities and the
international community must demonstrate that Iran's threats
toward Israel will not be tolerated," said Clinton, who is ahead in the race to be Democratic nominee at the Nov. 8 presidential elections.
Her call for sanctions reflected a tougher line against Iran's recent missile activity than that taken so far by the
White House, which said it is aware of and reviewing reports of the Iranian tests, and would determine an appropriate response.
"We know that Iran is in a season of carrying out a number of military activities, and so it certainly would not be a surprise if there are additional launches over the next several days,"
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
The Iranian move on Wednesday came despite warning from the
U.S. State Department after Tuesday's missile tests that
Washington continues to "aggressively apply our unilateral tools
to counter threats from Iran's missile program," a possible reference to additional
U.S. sanctions.
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on Wednesday with Iran's foreign minister about the test-firing of two ballistic missiles, a
State Department spokesman said.
The missile tests underline a rift in Iran between hard-line factions opposed to normalizing relations with the
West, and
President Hassan Rouhani's relatively moderate government, which is trying to attract foreign investors to Iran.
ISRAEL IN
MIND
Iran's IRGC said the missiles tested on Wednesday were designed with Israel in mind.
"The reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2,
000 km is to be able to hit our enemy the
Zionist regime from a safe distance,"
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the
ISNA agency. The nearest
point in Iran is around 1,000 km (600 miles) from
Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told
Israel Radio the tests showed Iran's hostility had not changed since implementing a nuclear deal with world powers in January, despite
Rouhani's overtures to the West.
"To my regret there are some in the West who are misled by the honeyed words of part of the Iranian leadership while the other part continues to procure equipment and weaponry, to arm terrorist groups," Yaalon said.
Representative Ed Royce, the
Republican chairman of the
U.S. House of Representatives'
Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “Iran is making a mockery of
President Obama’s vow to confront Iran’s dangerous and illicit acts.”
He urged
Obama to "aggressively enforce all sanctions against Iran’s missile programs, support for terrorism and human rights abuses. No more looking the other way.”
Washington imposed sanctions against businesses and individuals in January over another missile test in
October 2015. But the IRGC said it would not bow to pressure.
"The more sanctions and pressure our enemies apply
... the more we will develop our missile program," Hajizadeh said on state television.
The IRGC maintains dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles, the largest stock in the
Middle East. It says they are solely for defensive use with conventional, non-nuclear warheads.
Tehran has denied U.S. accusations of acting "provocatively," citing the long history of U.S. interventions in the Middle East and its own right to self-defense.
- published: 09 Mar 2016
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