Iran Enflames Tensions By Showcasing Violations Of U.N. Security Council’s Ballistic Missile Restrictions

(New York, N.Y.) — Last week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, unveiled a new array of ballistic missiles reportedly capable of striking targets in 13 countries from Iranian territory as well as any ship moving through the region's waterways.  

IRGC commander Hossein Salami made the announcement showcasing the regime’s “increasing power” through Iranian state media following a surge in increasingly provocative behavior by Tehran against vessels operating lawfully in international waters. 

In April, Iran seized a U.S.-bound oil tanker in international waters; in May, a Panama-flagged oil tanker was targeted between ports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); in June, U.S. and U.K. naval forces had to thwart another Iranian interference with a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz; and in July, Iran attempted to seize two vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, opening fire on one of them, and threatened retaliation against any company facilitating the sale of U.S.-seized Iranian oil. In response, the U.S. deployed the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall and 3,000 Marines to ensure the safety of merchant vessels passing through the Gulf.  

The brazen display of ballistic missile capabilities raises concerns over the upcoming sunset of prohibitions against Iran undertaking activities related to ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 on October 18, 2023. Iran never abided by the missile restrictions outlined in UNSCR 2231, but their expiration would further empower Iran to advance its missile program.  

In addition to the regional and maritime threats, the expiration of missile restrictions in October 2023 could allow Iran to develop nuclear weapon delivery systems, including ICBMs, that could reach the U.S. homeland as soon as 2025. CIA Director Bill Burns warned that Russian technicians are helping Iran develop its satellite launch vehicle program, which has direct applicability to the development of ICBMs.  

Iran’s flagrant disregard for the U.N. restrictions, particularly threatening to leverage banned technologies against civilian ships, should prompt the Biden administration to encourage its E3 allies to invoke the snapback sanctions mechanism on all pre-JCPOA U.N. sanctions. 

Iran cannot continue to skirt the international community while it threatens the lives of innocent people and international maritime safety without consequence. The U.S. and the entire international community must take this week’s troubling developments as a preview of the aggression to come if Iran goes on unchecked.

To read UANI’s resource JCPOA Sunset Alert: Missile Restrictions, please click here. 

To read UANI’s resource Stop the Hop II: The Ghost Armada Grows, please click here. 

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