Israeli Defense Minister Condemns Iran's 'Provocative' Missile Test

In response to Iran's test of the Khorramshahr ballistic missile, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman condemned the action as 'provocative' and indicative of 'Iran's ambition to become a global power to threaten other countries.' Iran announced on Saturday, October 23, that it had successfully tested its latest ballistic missile, named 'Khorramshahr,' which has a range of 'two thousand kilometers,' putting various points in the Middle East and Israel within its reach. The Tasnim news agency described the Khorramshahr missile as 'Israel's nightmare.' However, on Saturday evening, in reaction to this action, Lieberman referred to the ballistic missile launch by Iran as a 'provocative' act against the United States and its allies, including Israel. He stated that this action was partly a test of our reaction and partly 'indicative of Iran's ambition to become a global power to threaten Middle Eastern countries and other democratic governments in the world.' Iran's missile program is among the issues that the U.S. cites to accuse Iran of creating instability in the region, and a Security Council resolution supporting the nuclear agreement has prohibited Iran from testing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The White House, shortly after Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20, 2017, published a document indicating that the new U.S. administration was determined to confront the missile threats posed by Iran and North Korea. Recently, Trump criticized Iran, stating in his first speech at the United Nations on September 19 that 'we cannot allow the criminal regime in Iran to continue its destabilizing actions while pursuing its dangerous missile program.' The U.S., which has confirmed Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement twice during Trump's presidency, has imposed new sanctions related to Iran's missile program each time. Nevertheless, Iranian government and military officials have consistently emphasized strengthening the military and missile capabilities of the Islamic Republic in response to criticisms and sanctions related to the missile program. Recently, Amir Hatami, Iran's new defense minister, emphasized that the government is 'obligated to increase missile capabilities within the framework of approved programs,' and this approach will continue under the twelfth government. The Khorramshahr ballistic missile, whose 'successful test' was announced on Saturday, had previously been introduced in October 2016 as 'Iran's newest long-range missile' and was also tested in February of the previous year. At that time, after a Security Council meeting was convened to review this missile test, Nikki Haley, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, rejected Iranian officials' claims regarding its defensive nature, describing the action as 'unacceptable.' In mid-February 2017, the U.S. also imposed sanctions on several Iranian individuals and entities related to this missile test.