Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the UN General Assembly. Photo: UN.

JNS.org – Israel has condemned Iran’s latest ballistic missile test as a “provocation” amid growing concerns over the Islamic Republic’s behavior and US threats to end the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

On Saturday, Iran announced that it successfully tested a new ballistic missile with a range of up to 1,200 miles. Iran said in its announcement that the Khorramshahr missile could carry several warheads.

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that the missile test was “not just a provocation and an act of defiance directed at the US and its allies, including Israel, it is also further proof of Iran’s aspirations to become a world power and to threaten not just the Middle East but all the countries of the free world.”

“Imagine what would happen if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons,” he said. “That is what it aspires to do, and we cannot allow it to happen.”

The 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement does not address the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program. However, a UN Security Council resolution prohibits Iran from developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet on Sunday to discuss the latest Iranian test. Last week, Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump to discuss the 2015 nuclear agreement as well as Iran’s regional behavior. In his speech to the United Nations, Netanyahu urged the international community to “fix or nix” the deal with Iran.

Trump faces a mid-October deadline to report to Congress whether or not he can certify Iranian compliance with the nuclear agreement.