Iran’s Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic had tested a new missile, but added the test did not breach Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers or a United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.
Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but this is the first during United States President Donald Trump's administration. Mr. Trump said in his election campaign that he would stop Iran’s missile program.
“In line with our plans”
“The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs,” Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said, according to Tasnim news agency .
“The test did not violate the nuclear deal or the [U.N.] resolution 2231,” he said.
A U.S. official said on Monday that Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after travelling 630 miles (1,010 km).
“We won’t attack any country”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif neither confirmed nor denied the U.S. report, but said on Tuesday that Tehran would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country.
The U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear activities, “called upon” Iran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles “designed to” deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the language does not make this obligatory.
Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry such payloads.
