Clinton: Iran should face sanctions for ballistic missile tests

Hillary Clinton says Iran should face sanctions after reportedly carrying out ballistic missile tests.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that Iran has tested multiple missiles, which it claimed were stamped with words declaring that ‘Israel should be wiped from the pages of history,'” said the Democratic presidential candidate in a statement Wednesday.

{mosads}”This rhetoric is repulsive and has no place in the community of nations, and as President I will continue to stand with Israel against such threats,” she continued. 

“Iran should face sanctions for these activities, and the international community must demonstrate that Iran’s threats toward Israel will not be tolerated.” 

Iranian state media reported early Wednesday that the country conducted a second round of ballistic missile tests this week during a military drill. That action comes despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling upon Iran to refrain from such tests and follows U.S. sanctions earlier this year. 

Obama administration officials say they want to determine whether the tests violated international laws before bringing the issue up before the U.N. Security Council. 

Clinton said the missile launches constitute a “blatant violation of Iran’s UN Security Council obligations, and such violations must have consequences.”

Clinton has voiced support for the Iran deal on the campaign trail and has said she helped open the door to the landmark agreement as Obama’s first-term secretary of State.

But on Wednesday, she called for the U.S. to “address Iran’s destabilizing activities across the region, while vigorously enforcing the nuclear deal.”

The Republican National Committee responded to Clinton’s statement by highlighting her role in spearheading the secret negotiations leading to the deal.

“The Clinton-Obama nuclear deal is an open invitation for more Iranian aggression which we are once again seeing with these ballistic missile tests,” RNC spokesman Michael Short said in a statement. 

“The fact that this agreement gave away important leverage on their missile program while never ultimately blocking Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb underscores how reckless and misguided the Clinton-Obama foreign policy really is.” 

An UN Security Council resolution banning Iran’s work on ballistic missiles expired after the deal was brokered and a resolution simply calling on Iran to stop its activities was adopted instead.

Clintonon Wednesday also called for the U.S. to “hold Iran to its promise” to help locate and bring home Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who disappeared in that country nine years ago Wednesday.  

“We cannot rest until he is reunited with his family,” she said.

This story was updated at 3:11 p.m.