IRAN MISSLE CRISIS
Proof of arms-dealing: Haley
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday showed “concrete” proof that Iran is violating UN resolutions by supplying weapons to a rebel group in Yemen.
“In this warehouse is concrete evidence of illegal Iranian weapons proliferation, gathered from direct military attacks on partners in the region,” she said, standing in front of a charred ballistic missile the size of a car during a press conference at Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in Washington, DC.
Gesturing to the massive rocket behind her, she argued for stronger international sanctions against Tehran.
“These are the recovered pieces of a missile fired by Houthi militants from Yemen into Saudi Arabia,” she said.
“The missile’s intended target was a civilian airport in Riyadh through which tens of thousands of passengers travel each day.
“Just imagine if this missile had been launched at Dulles Airport or JFK, or the airports in Paris, London or Berlin. The fight against Iranian aggression is the world’s fight,” she added.
Also on display during the press conference were a “kamikaze drone” and an anti-tank weapon.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided the Pen- tagon with the recovered munitions. Trotting out the weapons required having them declassified by the Pentagon, an unprecedented move, Haley said.
Saudi Arabia is a major rival of Iran and is providing support to the Yemeni government in its struggle to crack down on Houthi rebels.
Under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, the country is barred from selling weapons without the UN Security Council’s approval.
US officials acknowledged they cannot definitively prove when the weapons were given to militants, and in some cases, they can’t ver- ify who made them or how they were used, but Haley remained confident that Iran was to blame.
“These are Iranian made, these are Iranian sent and these were Iranian given,” Haley said.
One fragment recovered from a missile fired at Saudi Arabia included a maker’s mark from Iranian manufacturer Shahid Bagger Industries.
Iran has denied the allegations and claimed Thursday that the proof on display was “fabricated,” according to Reuters.
Foreign Minister Javad Zarif compared the display to US claims in 2003 that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction — which later turned out to be false.
Still, Haley promised that the US could convince international partners to crack down on Iran — and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran-nemesis Israel all applauded the sentiment.
“You will see us build a coalition to really push back against Iran and what they’re doing,” Haley said.
But others, such as British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, remained skeptical that the display would sway UN Security Council members such as China and Russia, who are friendlier with Iran.
“We’re going to be pursuing with them nonetheless,” Rycroft concluded.