Power on Iran Missile Test: ‘Walk and Chew Gum’ At Same Time

Iran violated United Nations Security Council resolutions by test-firing the Emad, a new long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said on Wednesday.

“If the facts are as we believe them to be, it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Power said during a conversation at Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” summit in Washington, DC.

The Ambassador refused to say whether the missile test violated the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), stressing that “it’s not the first time they are doing that.”

“I think we have to walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said about Iran’s actions ahead of the Oct. 19 implementation date.

Power echoed comments made by White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Tuesday. “This is altogether separate from the nuclear agreement that Iran reached with the rest of the world,” Earnest told reporters at the daily briefing. “In contrast to the repeated violations of the U.N. Security Council resolution that pertains to their ballistic missile activities, we’ve seen that Iran over the last couple of years has demonstrated a track record of abiding by the commitments that they made in the context of the nuclear talks.”

AIPAC warned on Tuesday that “if the U.S. does not hold Iran accountable now, violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action could go unanswered in the future.”