The United States and three European allies are calling on the United Nations Security Council to respond to Iran's recent ballistic missile tests, which they say were carried out in defiance of a UN resolution.
In a letter to the council, the United States, France, Britain, and Germany call the launches "destabilizing and provocative" and say the Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile and Qiam-1 short-range ballistic missile that were fired are "inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
A Security Council resolution adopted after the Iran nuclear deal was signed last year calls for Iran not to launch any ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.
Moreover, the four Western powers "note with concern that Iranian military leaders have reportedly claimed these missiles are designed to be a direct threat to Israel."
When the Iranian test-firings were raised in the council on March 14, Russia said the launches were not a violation and that it does not support new sanctions against Iran. That makes council action unlikely.
"The resolution does not ban [the tests]," Interfax cited Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the ministry's department for nonproliferation and arms control, as saying.