WASHINGTON — Iran conducted its first missile test since President Trump took office, American and Israeli officials said Monday, posing an early test of whether the Trump administration will make good on its promises to strictly enforce all aspects of the Iranian nuclear deal and a side agreement on missile testing.
The Iranian missile traveled about 600 miles, but its re-entry vehicle reportedly exploded before the flight was complete. It is unclear whether that was accidental or a deliberate detonation.
Israel’s United Nations ambassador, Danny Danon, accused Iran of violating a Security Council resolution passed in 2015, shortly after the nuclear accord was reached in Vienna.
While the agreement itself dealt only with Iran’s nuclear program, then-Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated for days with the Iranians about a revised Security Council resolution on missiles. That last concession by the United States, China, Russia, Germany and France sealed the entire diplomatic package.
The previous United Nations resolution had specifically prohibited such tests, with wording the Iranians were eager to jettison. Under the new resolution, Iran was “called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”
Iran has said that because it does not have a nuclear weapons program, its missiles are not designed to be able to deliver nuclear warheads.
At the White House on Monday, Sean Spicer, the press secretary, acknowledged that the missile launch had taken place but said nothing about how the new administration would react.
“We’re aware that Iran fired that missile,” he said. “We’re looking into the exact nature of it.”
During the campaign, Mr. Trump often condemned the nuclear deal and at times conflated Iran’s nuclear program and its missile program.
Inside the administration, there seems to be little appetite now to tear up the 2015 agreement, despite Mr. Trump’s criticism of it. The new defense secretary, Jim Mattis, said during his confirmation hearing that while he wished the accord would prohibit Iranian nuclear activity for longer than it does, the world was safer with the agreement.
The missile launch opens up new possibilities for the administration: It could join Israel in seeking new sanctions that are missile-related, steering clear of the core nuclear deal. But it is unclear whether there is any desire for that in the European Union, China or Russia, all signatories to the accord.
