Netanyahu: Iran missile test must not go unanswered

(BBC)- Israel's prime minister has accused Iran of carrying out a missile test in "flagrant violation" of a UN security council resolution.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he would discuss renewing sanctions when he met US President Donald Trump in February.

Iran has carried out several such tests since a 2015 nuclear deal which relaxed sanctions against the country.

It is not yet clear what type of missile was launched, or if it explicitly violated the UN resolution.

A 2010 resolution, which barred Iran from undertaking any work on "ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads", was terminated after the nuclear deal with six world powers was implemented.

A new resolution, 2231, then came into force that "calls upon" Iran not to undertake any activity related to "ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons".

In a recorded message on his Facebook page, Mr Netanyahu said "Iranian aggression must not go unanswered".

Mr Netanyahu is a fierce critic of the nuclear deal with Iran, which calls for the eradication of the Jewish state.

Iran says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes, but world powers suspect it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The White House said it was studying the details of the incident.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missile had broken up before the test was completed.

But US Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the foreign relations committee, said: "No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations."

Mr Trump has previously called the Iran nuclear deal "a disaster" and suggested his administration will abandon it.

But that has drawn criticism from senior figures, including the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan.

Mr Brennan, who stepped down when President Trump took office, told the BBC late last year that tearing up the agreement "would be the height of folly" and "disastrous".

But Mike Pompeo, who has succeeded Mr Brennan as director of the CIA, was a prominent critic of the deal.