Secretary-General 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 United Nations is investigating Iran’s possible transfer of ballistic missiles to Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen that may have been used in launches aimed at Saudi Arabia on July 22 and November 4. The Security Council discussed the launch on September 8, and “there was no consensus among council members” on how it related to the 2015 resolution, Guterres said. He said Israel protested that Iran’s test of a Qiam ballistic missile on November 15, 2016 “used a Star of David as the intended target,” and citied other ballistic missiles it reportedly launched at targets in Syria on June 18-19. The secretary-general said Iran called Israel’s claim of a specifically marked target “a sheer falsehood.” Iran also said its “military capabilities, including ballistic missiles, have not been designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons and thus are outside the purview of the Security Council resolution,” Guterres said.

Source: Egypt Independent December 14, 2017 11:03 UTC