Following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the United States, France, and several other European countries, the French foreign minister reacted to the IRGC's recent missile test. Earlier, Israel had called on the P5+1 countries to consider immediate punitive action against Iran.
“If necessary, sanctions will be imposed [on the Islamic Republic],” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Sunday (March 13), referring to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests. The remarks came after meetings with his US counterpart, John Kerry, as well as the foreign ministers of several other European countries.
According to AFP, John Kerry called Iran's move a violation of UN resolutions. Accordingly, the United States has asked that the issue be discussed at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday.
A day before the French foreign minister, the Israeli prime minister reacted to the IRGC's recent missile test. Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a statement on Saturday that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had been instructed to ask the P5+1 countries to impose immediate sanctions against Iran.
In a recent test, the missiles, which are said to have a range of 2,000 kilometers, were inscribed in Hebrew with the words: "Israel must be destroyed." Israel considers this action a serious threat to its existence.
Previously, in response to Iran's ballistic missile tests, the UN Secretary-General had called on the country's authorities to adopt cautious and moderate behavior to prevent an increase in regional tensions.
Following the IRGC missile test, the US State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed concern about the IRGC missile test in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied such a conversation. The Iranian Foreign Ministry does not consider the missile test to be a violation of a UN resolution. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, also said on a live television program on Wednesday evening (March 10) that Iran’s recent missile test was not in violation of the JCPOA.
