U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told the UN Security Council that Washington would seek to work with the 15-member body to reimpose ballistic missile restrictions on Iran.

In his December 12 address to the Council meeting on Iran, Pompeo also said a UN arms embargo on Tehran should not be lifted in 2020. He called on the Security Council to establish "inspection and interdiction measures, in ports and on the high seas, to thwart Iran's continuing efforts to circumvent arms restrictions."

The Security Council meeting comes after a senior Iranian military commander confirmed that Tehran recently carried out a ballistic-missile test that was condemned by Western powers.

"We are continuing our missile tests and this recent one was a significant test," the Fars news agency quoted Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh as saying on December 11.

The Council met last week to discuss the December 1 test, which the United States said violated UN Resolution 2231, which was passed as part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Britain and France described the test as "provocative" and "inconsistent" with the resolution.

Russia, which has veto power, has defended Iran's right to carry out missile tests.

Resolution 2231 has called for Iran to refrain from testing missiles capable of carrying a nuclear weapon but does not specifically forbid Tehran from missile launches.

Tehran says its missile program is defensive and not aimed at building an arsenal of nuclear-tipped missiles.