WASHINGTON — While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the UN Security Council today to impose tougher measures to restrain Iran’s ballistic missile activities, European allies said they doubt the Donald Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign will achieve its stated objective of a better agreement with Iran. Instead, they fear it is more likely over time to provoke Iran to lash out in ways that could lead to military escalation.

“Today, Iran has the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East,” Pompeo said at a UN Security Council session Dec. 12 on Resolution 2231 that enshrines the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “It has hundreds of missiles which pose a threat to our partners in the region,” Pompeo added.

“So the question … now: What steps ought we take to confront this Iranian malign activity?” he asked. Pompeo said the United States would work with member states to seek to reimpose the restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile activity contained in an older, 2010 resolution, which was superseded by the one that enshrined the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“Beyond addressing Iran’s ballistic missile activities, the council should not lift the arms embargo in 2020 on Iran,” Pompeo also proposed.