White House: The U.S. is Seeking to Verify Iran's Missile Test

The White House spokesperson on Monday, May 30, hours after conflicting statements from Iranian military officials regarding a new missile test, stated that the U.S. is investigating whether this test has taken place or not. Josh Earnest told reporters, "We are still looking into what has actually been released." According to Reuters, he added, "We are aware of Iran's claims regarding a new ballistic missile launch. We also know that the Iranian Defense Minister has stated that such a test did not occur." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that Washington cannot confirm that such a test occurred two weeks ago, but if true, it would be a "provocative" and "destabilizing" act. Elizabeth Trudeau reiterated the U.S. position that any missile testing by Iran is in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution. She stated, "We remain concerned about ballistic missile testing by Iran, which is provocative and destabilizing." Ali Abdollahi, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, reported on Monday morning that Iran "tested a missile with a range of 2000 kilometers with an error margin of 8 meters" and added that "an 8-meter error means nothing, means zero, means no error." These statements were met with a denial from Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan later that day. Iran's missile tests receive significant media coverage and reactions from Western countries due to their high sensitivity for the security of U.S. allies in the Middle East, especially Israel. The U.S. has repeatedly condemned such tests by Tehran and imposed sanctions on military sectors and individuals involved in Iran's military industries. Following several missile tests by Iran in the second half of 2015, four countries, the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany, in early April of this year, sent a letter to the Spanish ambassador, the rotating president of the Security Council, and Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stating that Iran's missile tests, which included missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, demonstrate "disregard" for Security Council Resolution 2231 and must be appropriately responded to. The Islamic Republic of Iran claims that its missile tests do not violate this resolution or the JCPOA. Despite this, the U.S. sanctioned six companies and two individuals related to Iran's missile program on April 5 of this year.