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Update: Iran says missile test did not violate UN resolution

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said here Thursday that the country's recent missile launch does not violate a United Nations resolution.

"The recent (missile) drills and the weapons used in them neither violate the JCPOA nor the UN Security Council resolution," Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by semi-official ISNA news agency.

JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is the formal title of a deal reached with major world powers on Iran's nuclear program, under which sanctions against Tehran were lifted.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 1929, Iran is prohibited from working on ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

"All Iranian short, medium and long range missiles and those of ballistic, some of which were test-fired in the recent military drills, are conventional and legitimate defensive tools and are not developed for carrying nuclear warheads," Jaber Ansari said.

The Islamic republic is against any use of weapons of mass destruction, he said.

Tehran will continue its missile program within the international conventions, without entering the realm of developing nuclear warheads, Jaber Ansari said.

On Tuesday, Iran fired several ballistic missiles at the start of major missile drills by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

On Wednesday, the IRGC fired Qadr-H and Qadr-F missiles, with a range of 1,700 km and 2,000 km respectively.

The United States said Tuesday that although Iran's recent ballistic missile tests did not violate JCPOA, the issue could be the source of concern for the West and that it might be raised at the UN Security Council.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that if it was determined that Iran's ballistic missile tests were in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, Tehran could face "some consequences." Endit