Alwaght- Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has underlined that the country’s weapons are only for defense.
Speaking on Wednesday in Tehran, Rouhani noted that country’s ballistic missile serves defensive and deterrent purposes, stressing that the Islamic Republic has never sought to launch aggression against any country.
“We have had and no intention of invading any country, particularly our neighbors, with our missiles and we will not do so, and our arms are [designed] solely to defend our nation and country,” Rouhani said after a cabinet session.
The Iranian President also expressed satisfaction that attempts by hawkish and bellicose parties aimed at forcing the United Nations Security Council to condemn Iran’s recent test of missiles got nowhere.
“We are happy that extremists, warmongers and those who unjustly took (the case of) our missile test to the (UN) Security Council became disappointed and got a negative response.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) earlier this month test-fired 2 indigenously produced 'Qadr H' ballistic missiles from the Eastern Alborz Mountains at a target some 1400km away.
On Monday, the UN Security Council convened a session to study the issue, but said in a statement that it needed more technical information to determine whether or not the launches were a breach of a UNSC resolution that was approved after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Following achievement of the JCPOA, a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), the UNSC passed a resolution to endorse the accord.
Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”
Iran insists that none of its missiles have been designed for carrying nuclear warheads.
Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin also announced that the tests were not in violation to the UN resolutions and that his country was opposed to imposing new sanctions.
Reacting to Churkin’s remarks, the US ambassador to the UN promised to continue for action against Iran’s ballistic tests. In response to a question on whether new sanctions should be imposed on Iran over its recent missile tests, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said, "The clear and short answer is no."
