Zeldin, Roskam question administration’s response to Iranian ballistic missile tests

U.S. Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Peter Roskam (R-IL) recently sought answers about the Obama administration’s response to ballistic missile tests carried out by Iran.

Iran’s test firing of ballistic missiles in October challenged a United Nations resolution and prompted sanctions against businesses and individuals linked to the missile program. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps then test fired more missiles over two days in March, Reuters reports.

In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Zeldin, Roskam and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) said that the October launches drew “bare-minimum sanctions,” and that subsequent launches in March had left the international community “struggling to respond to Iran’s continued provocations.”

“In arguing for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), (Kerry) and other administration officials assured the American people and Congress that (United Nations Security Resolution 2231) still allowed the U.S. to respond to dangerous actions, like these, from the Iranians,” Zeldin and Roskam wrote.

Zeldin and Roskam noted that a joint letter sent by the U.S., U.K, French and German governments to the United Nations indicated that missiles launched in March were “inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons” — yet there had been no U.S. declaration of a “violation” in the wake of the tests.

Zeldin and Roskam asked Kerry to explain why the missile tests have not been labeled a violation of the security resolution and why the U.S. did not make that declaration on its own.

“While many lawmakers, ourselves included, are certain that Iran’s latest tests violate UNSCR 2231, (Kerry’s) decision to cease labeling the launches a violation is alarming,” Zeldin and Roskam wrote. “We are troubled by reports that the administration is stifling voices within its ranks for stronger action against Iran — putting the JCPOA and political legacy above the safety and security of the American people.”