John Kerry Discusses Iran's New Missile Tests with Zarif

On Wednesday evening, March 10, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department announced that John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, had discussed the new missile tests conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. According to Reuters, John Kirby told reporters that Kerry expressed his concerns about these tests during his conversation with Zarif. Meanwhile, the White House spokesperson stated on the second day of the IRGC's missile tests that the U.S. is aware of these tests and will condemn them if they pose a threat to Israel. Josh Earnest remarked that the U.S. and its allies in the region will intensify their efforts to limit Iran's ability to expand its ballistic missile technology. He added that if Iran conducts further tests in the coming days, the U.S. will not be surprised by this action. Earlier, Reuters reported that both the U.S. and the United Nations would respond appropriately to Iran's actions, according to an unnamed official. On Wednesday morning, the IRGC tested two more ballistic missiles, which, according to Iranian state television, had a range of nearly 1,500 kilometers, thus capable of reaching Israeli territory. ISNA reported on Wednesday, citing Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, that the reason for developing a missile with this range is so that Iran can target Israel from a safe distance. This news has drawn reactions from the U.S. State Department and Israel. Meanwhile, Mark Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, reacted to the news of the ballistic missile tests by stating that these missiles pose a threat to Israel and that if he becomes president, he will annul Obama's agreement with Iran on his first day in office. Rubio has not enjoyed much popularity in the party's primary elections. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon responded to the news on Israeli radio, stating that this test shows that there has been no change in Iran's hostile behavior since the nuclear agreement. Ya'alon noted that unfortunately, some in the West have been misled by the sweet words of part of the Iranian regime, while another part continues to produce weapons and equip terrorist groups. Iranian news agencies reported that the phrase 'Israel must be wiped off the map' was written in Hebrew on the tested missiles. However, Reuters stated that such a phrase is not visible in any of the published images. Reuters also noted that Iran possesses the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the region. This is while, under UN Security Council Resolution 1929, Iran is prohibited from producing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and from testing missiles that utilize ballistic technology. The U.S. has so far placed companies, institutions, and individuals that have assisted in the expansion of Iran's ballistic missile technology on its sanctions list. Iran has always claimed that these tests are not provocative and are purely defensive. In this context, the U.S. is taking Iran's new missile test issue to the Security Council.