Scientific, technological advances Iranians’ legitimate right: Foreign Ministry

A top Iranian official says the Iranian people are legitimately entitled to make scientific and technological advances, especially in the field of aerospace, stressing that the country’s recent launch of its first-ever military satellite into orbit is for peaceful purposes and in line with Iran’s defense doctrine.

On Thursday night, Abbas Mousavi also dismissed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claim that the launch by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, saying such meddlesome remarks will never shake the nation’s resolve for further progress.

“No resolution prohibits Iran from launching a satellite into space, and the US reference to Resolution 2231 is definitely irrelevant and at odds with reality.  Astonishingly, Resolution 2231 is the very resolution that Washington violated by withdrawing from the JCPOA (the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) [in May 2018], and is yet clearly pressuring other independent countries to breach,” Mousavi pointed out.

The Iranian diplomat also rejected latest remarks by German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger that “the Iranian rocket program has a destabilizing effect on the region,” saying the statement comes at the time when Berlin itself intends to purchase fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs.

“Such double-standard policies threaten the security of the region, Europe and the world,” Mousavi noted.

Iran’s first military satellite, dubbed Nour-1 (Light 1), was launched onboard the Qased (Messenger) satellite carrier in the early hours of Wednesday from a location in Dasht-e Kavir, the central desert of Iran.

The satellite was placed into orbit 425 kilometers (265 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

Resolution 2231, which endorsed a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal between Iran and six other countries — from which the US later withdrew — “called on” Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” but did not prohibit Tehran from launching satellites.