Missiles tested Wednesday are designed to carry nuclear warheads, violate UN Security Council resolutions, Jerusalem says
Iran’s foreign ministry has insisted the missile tests carried out by the country this week do not violate Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution.
Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari was quoted by the official IRNA news agency on Thursday as saying the missiles were “conventional defensive instruments and they were merely for legitimate defense.”
Ansari says the test-firing “did not defy the Security Council resolution.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard test-launched two ballistic missiles on Wednesday emblazoned with the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew — a show of power by the Shiite nation.
It was the latest in a series of recent tests, aimed at demonstrating Iran’s intentions to push ahead with its ballistic program.
Israel on Wednesday night slammed the launches as a “clear violation” of UN Security Council resolutions and raise questions about the Islamic Republic’s commitment to last July’s nuclear deal.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the missiles that were tested could carry a nuclear warhead, and were capable of hitting Israel and much of the Middle East.
“The missile launches over the past few days represent a clear violation of Security Council Resolution 2231, which adopted the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers,” it said. “The decision bars Iran from firing missiles that have the capability to carry a nuclear warhead — which are precisely the missiles they fired.”
That Iran is developing missiles that are suited for nuclear warfare “raises a big question about Iran’s intentions to comply fully with its part of the nuclear deal,” it added.
As reported by The Times of Israel