Trump says not much of a nuclear deal after Iran tests missile

Latest test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East.

Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran was building its missile capability and accused it of exporting violence to Yemen, Syria and other parts of the Middle East.
Reuters

Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran was building its missile capability and accused it of exporting violence to Yemen, Syria and other parts of the Middle East.

Iran's test launch of new medium-range missile calls into question a landmark nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, President Donald Trump said Saturday, while also accusing the Islamic republic of colluding with North Korea.         

Trump tweeted that "Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel. They are also working with North Korea. Not much of an agreement we have!"     

The nose cone of the missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers and can carry multiple warheads.

Iran's missile test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a "rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos."

Britain voices concerns

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter, "Extremely concerned by reports of Iran missile test, which is inconsistent with UN resolution 2231. Call on Iran to halt provocative acts."

France seeks report

France also said it was extremely concerned and called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to carry out a full report on the launch.

"France asks that Iran cease all destabilising activity in the region," Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes Romatet-Espagne said in a statement. 

"(France) will consider with its partners, notably European, the means to obtain from Iran the cessation of its destabilising ballistic activities."

Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

After the US imposed its latest sanctions earlier in July this year, Iran had lodged a complaint with the commission that polices violations of the 2015 agreement.

The commission had concluded that even after sharp exchanges between the US and Iran, the accord was working. The Trump administration had also said, though grudgingly, that Iran was complying.

Many of Trump’s advisers, and even some top Republican critics of Iran in Congress, had also urged him not to withdraw from the agreement.

The US president has now threatened to declare Iran to be in breach of the 2015 deal unless it is expanded to punish Iran for pursuing a ballistic missile program and for sponsoring foreign militant groups.

On October 15, Trump is due to tell the US Congress whether he is ready to recertify Iran's compliance with the 2015 deal. 

If he refuses to do so, it could open the door to renewed US sanctions and the collapse of the deal.

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