World Bulletin / News Desk

The United States on Tuesday raised alarm at the United Nations over Iran's test-firing of a medium range missile, calling it "absolutely unacceptable," after Tehran warned the United States against fuelling tensions.

The row comes against a backdrop of already strained relations between Washington and the Islamic republic over US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.

"We have confirmed that Iran did have a medium-size missile launch testing on January 29, on Sunday. This is absolutely unacceptable," Haley told reporters following a closed-door council meeting.

The ambassador accused Iran of trying to convince the world that "they are being nice" before adding: "I will tell the people across the world that is something we should be alarmed about."

"The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," warned Haley.

"We are committed to making them understand that this is not anything that we will ever accept."

Tehran has neither confirmed nor denied firing any missiles at the weekend.

Under a council resolution that endorsed the historic nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran is barred from developing missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Any violation of that resolution could trigger a snapback of sanctions that were lifted under the nuclear agreement, opening up the Iranian economy to investment and opportunities.