Iran said Tuesday it conducted ballistic missile tests at several sites across the country in order to show its "deterrent power" and readiness to confront threats.
The tests come two months after the United States imposed new sanctions against five Iranian nationals and a network of companies with links to banned missile activity.
Iran defended two previous missile tests last October as being a matter of national security after the U.S. and other Western powers said the launches violated a U.N. Security Council resolution.
US reaction
The U.S. State Department said it plans to ask the United Nations Security Council to review Iran's latest tests and "press for an appropriate response."
"We also continue to aggressively apply our unilateral tools to counter threats from Iran’s missile program," the State Department said.
But State also acknowledged that the missile tests are not prohibited by Tehran's agreement with six world powers, including the United States, to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions that hobbled its economy. That deal was meant to address concerns that Iran was working on nuclear weapons, which it has always denied.
With the implementation of the nuclear pact in January, a new U.N. resolution calls on Iran to not "undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology."
