Iran will not use ballistic missiles to attack any country: foreign minister
"Iran will never use missiles produced in Iran to attack any other country."
Iran said on Tuesday it would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country and defended its missile tests, saying they are neither part of a nuclear accord with world powers nor a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact, Reuters reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spelled out Tehran's stance after a U.S. official said Iran on Sunday test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile that exploded after 630 miles (1,010 km).
In light of this, the United States requested the U.N. Security Council hold "urgent consultations" on Tuesday, after its scheduled session on Syria's conflict.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters in Tehran that had voiced its concerns over the Iranian test, adding that it harmed the international community's confidence in Tehran and contravened Security Council Resolution 2231.
That resolution ratified a July 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers under which Tehran curbed its nuclear activity to defuse concerns it could be put to making atomic bombs; in return, Iran won relief from crippling economic sanctions.
Zarif neither confirmed nor denied the U.S. report that it tested a ballistic missile on Sunday but added: "The missiles aren't part of the nuclear accords. Iran will never use missiles produced in Iran to attack any other country."
"No Iranian missiles have been produced to carry nuclear warheads," said Zarif, speaking at a joint news conference held with Ayrault in Tehran.
News.Az
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