Tehran: Our missile tests don’t violate nuke deal

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Ministry insisted on Thursday that the missile tests carried out by the country’s Revolutionary Guard this week do not violate Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution.

According to ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the missiles were “conventional defensive instruments and they were merely for legitimate defense,” IRNA reported.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the launch, saying it did violate the UN resolution and that it shows that Iran “continues to dismiss the international community’s demands and to develop its aggressive capabilities.” In a statement Thursday, the ministry called on the world to “react firmly and decisively” against further Iranian missile launches.
However, Ansari said the test-firing “did not defy the Security Council resolution” and added that Iran will continue its missile program. He also said Iran will remain committed to its international obligations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not compromise over its security and defensive power,” said Ansari.
“It will continue it’s completely defensive and legitimate missile program while observing its international commitments and without entering into the fields of either nuclear warheads or designing missiles capable of carrying such warheads,” he added.
The landmark nuclear deal, under which Iran accepted to substantially cap its nuclear program, does not include provisions against missile launches. When it came into effect on Jan. 16, the Security Council lifted most UN sanctions against Tehran — including a ban it had imposed in 2010 on Iran testing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Late Wednesday, the head of the airspace division of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Amir Ali Hejazi, told state TV that the Hebrew markings on the missiles tested earlier in the day were “a choice by colleagues” who worked on the missiles, indicating it was not an official, high-level decision.