Iran will not accept any limitations on its missile program, Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said on Wednesday after UN experts accused Tehran of violating a Security Council resolution.
The test-firing of the Emad missile on October 10, three months after a historic nuclear deal, prompted a demand by Britain, France, Germany and the United States for a probe by a UN Security Council sanctions committee.
“Despite the pressures and a poisonous atmosphere, we tested the Emad missile and announced its range,” Dehghan said, according to his ministry’s website.
“The aim was to tell the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran acted in accordance with its national interests and… will not accept any limitations in this area,” the general said.
A report by the UN panel of experts concluded that the Emad launch was a violation of Security Council Resolution 1929, which prohibits Tehran from launching ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
“The panel assesses that the launch of the Emad has a range of no less than 1,000 kilometers with a payload of at least 1,000 kilograms and that Emad was a launch ‘using ballistic missile technology’,” the report said.
Tehran says its ballistic missiles are purely defensive and not designed to carry nuclear weapons.
