US Warns Iran Against Conducting Planned Missile Launches - Pompeo

In late December, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that any efforts by foreign countries to stop the country from testing missiles would be futile.

Iran will face economic and diplomatic consequences if it goes ahead with plans to launch three space vehicles in the coming months, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned in a statement on Thursday.

"The United States will not stand by and watch the Iranian regime's destructive policies place international stability and security at risk," Pompeo said. "We advise the regime to reconsider these provocative launches and cease all activities related to ballistic missiles in order to avoid deeper economic and diplomatic isolation."

Pompeo noted that Iran has publicly announced plans to soon fire off three Space Launch Vehicles, or rockets that are used to carry payloads. He added that such launches incorporate the same technology to that used in ballistic missiles.

The top US diplomat also said the launches would signal Iran's ongoing "defiance" of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the international nuclear agreement and called upon the Islamic Republic to refrain from any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

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Pompeo noted that France, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries around the world have expressed "deep concern" over the tests that Iran has conducted since Resolution 2231 was adopted in July 2015.

He also cautioned that the test launches have a "destabilizing effect" on the Middle East and beyond.

In addition, Pompeo accused Iran, which he called the "world's foremost state sponsor of terror," of sharing missiles and missile technology with its "proxies" in the Middle East, in further violation of Resolution 2231.

Unanimously adopted on July 20, 2015, Resolution 2231 formally endorsed the international nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The resolution laid out a plan for removing UN sanctions on Iran in exchange for strict monitoring of its nuclear program, which the country insists is peaceful.

The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, and Tehran has since then accused Washington of violating Resolution 2231. Iran has also denied that its missile program violates the resolution.