Iran Complains About Israel’s Latest Rocket Test, Says Test Is Aimed at Iran

Just days after the three EU members of the P5+1 nuclear deal were complaining about Iran’s recent missile tests, claiming they were violating a ban on nuclear-capable missile development, Israel confirmed a rocket test of its own. Iran immediately issued a comparable statement, labeling Israel as testing a “nuke-missile, aimed at Iran.“

Iranian officials were deliberately calling out the double standard between them and Israel, with FM Javad Zarif noting that the EU nations and US “never complain about the only nuclear arsenal in West Asia,” while constantly faulting Iran for conventional missiles.

While the US and the other Western nations often complain about Iran violating the ban on advancing nuclear-capable missiles, Iran’s lack of nuclear weapons makes this surely theoretical. The US, in particular, has argued that even launching telecommunications satellites into orbit violates the ban because the know-how could conceivably be transferred.

Israel, on the other hand, is known to have a nuclear weapons program, and while it’s not clear that the test in question was directly part of that program, Iran does have a point when it notes that Western nations never complain about Israel’s arsenal, and constantly rips on Iran for its civilian nuclear program.