Ballistic ambitions of Iran worrying: France

Moscow : French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said yesterday that Iran’s ballistic missile ambitions were very worrying and ran counter to a U.N. resolution that sought action against Iran for violating arms embargo and failing to prevent missiles and drones from being supplied to Shiite militia in Yemen.

Le Drian, speaking at a news conference after talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, said it was necessary to avoid the Iranian ballistic programme becoming a factor that threatened its neighbours. 

The statement comes after Russia on Monday vetoed the British-drafted U.N. resolution against Iran. 11 countries favoured the resolution in the Security Council, Russia and Bolivia opposed, and China and Kazakhstan abstained.

Britain sought to focus attention on a report in January by the U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions against Iran that examined missile remnants fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels last year and said many “are consistent with those of the Iranian designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile.”

It concluded that Iran was in “non-compliance” with the 2015 U.N. arms embargo on Yemen because it failed “to take the necessary measures” to prevent the direct or indirect supply of missiles and drones to the Houthis.

Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador Jonathan Allen urged council member not to “shy away from calling out those whose actions undermine international peace and security.”

“This council needs to stand firm in the face of state non-compliance and send a clear message that it will not be tolerated,” he said.

US threatens action

Meanwhile, the United States has threatened unilateral action against Iran after Russia vetoed the resolution in the United Nations Security Council.

“If Russia is going to continue to cover for Iran then the U.S. and our partners need to take action on our own. If we’re not going to get action on the council then we have to take our own actions,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told reporters during a visit to Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. 

Haley did not specify what kind of action could be taken. 

The Russian veto was a defeat for the United States, which has been lobbying for months for Iran to be held accountable at the United Nations, while at the same time threatening to quit a 2015 deal among world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program if “disastrous flaws” are not fixed. 

“Obviously this vote isn’t going to make the decision on the nuclear deal. What I can say is it doesn’t help,” Haley said in the Security Council. “That just validated a lot of what we already thought which is Iran gets a pass for its dangerous and illegal behaviour.”