Iran has once again defied international agreements and United Nations council resolutions when it carried out another mid-range ballistic missile test just barely over a month since it first test-fired such weapon.
The test was held on Nov. 21 near Chabahar, a port city in southeast Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province near the border with Pakistan. The launch took place from a known missile test site along the Gulf of Oman, Fox News reported, citing Western intelligence officials.
"The missile, known as a Ghadr-110, has a range of 1,800 to 2,000 km, or 1,200 miles, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead," the report said, adding that the missile is an improved version of the Shahab 3, and is similar to the precision guided missile tested by Iran on Oct. 10, which elicited strong condemnation from members of the U.N. Security Council.
A senior administration official told Fox News on Monday the White House was "aware" of reports of the missile test, but had "no further comment at this time."
Following reports about the Iranian missile test in October, the United States had expressed deep concern about the move but assured it would not derail the nuclear accord it signed with Iran together with other world powers.
President Barack Obama told a news conference that the U.S. was preparing to brief the U.N. sanctions committee about the ballistic test. "I think what we'll be doing is we'll review, as we have in the past, any violations of U.N. resolutions, and we'll deal with them much as we have in the past."
A day after Iran and six world powers signed a nuclear deal, the U.N. passed Resolution 2231 which compels the Islamic Republic to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for eight years. Earlier, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 was passed in 2010 banning Iran from conducting ballistic missile test.
However, the rogue nation appears to be in a race against the clock to improve the accuracy of its ballistic missile arsenal in the wake of the nuclear agreement signed in July, Fox News said.
