Iran test-fires ballistic missiles during large-scale drills, March 9, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)
Iran says its latest launch
of ballistic missiles does not violate the nuclear agreement it reached
with the P5+1 group of countries and is not in contravention of a United
Nations Security Council resolution.
The missile launch
is “neither inconsistent with Iran’s commitments under the JCPOA, nor is
it against the Security Council Resolution 2231,” Iran’s Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi-Ansari said on Thursday
He was
referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between
Tehran and the P5+1 group – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and
Germany – last year.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
successfully test-fired two more ballistic missiles on Wednesday as part
of military drills to assess their capabilities.
The missiles dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F were fired during large-scale drills, code-named Eqtedar-e-Velayat.
Commander
of the IRGC Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said
Qadr-H missile has a range of 1,700 kilometers while Qadr-F missile can
hit targets some 2,000 kilometers away.
On Tuesday, Iran fired
another ballistic missile called Qiam from silo-based launchers in
different locations across the country.
Jaberi-Ansari said none of
Iran’s missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads and thus, their
production and test “are not in contravention of Resolution 2231 and its
appendices.”
The resolution, adopted by the Security Council on
July 20, 2015, bars Iran from developing missiles designed to carry
nuclear warheads.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not compromise over its security and defensive power," said Jaberi-Ansari.
Iran,
he said, "will continue its completely defensive and legitimate missile
program with the framework of its legitimate defense requirements."
Tehran
will observe "its international commitments without entering into the
fields of either nuclear warheads or designing missiles capable of
carrying such warheads," he added.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday the missile launch did not constitute a breach of the JCPOA.
Iran
has repeatedly assured other countries that its military might poses no
threat to other states, insisting that its defense doctrine is entirely
based on deterrence. A ballistic missile is launched during large-scale drills in northern Iran, March 9, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)Zarif-Kerry conversation untrue
Also
on Thursday, an informed source at Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed
reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry had phoned Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to discuss the tests.
A US State Department spokesman claimed on Wednesday that the two sides had discussed the issue earlier in the day.
The
Iranian source said Kerry had sent an email to Zarif a week ago, asking
for a phone conversation, but the minister has not responded yet
because of his current busy tour of six Southeastern Asian and Pacific
nations.
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