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Khamenei insists Iran’s missile development will continue despite UN resolutions
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said that Iran’s controversial ballistic missile development will continue, in order to help confront “the enemies of the revolution.” Tehran’s recent missile tests were condemned this week by Britain, United States, France and Germany as they defy United Nations’ (UN) Security Council resolutions.
In a statement, Khamenei said that “Those who say the future is in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors.” He insisted that “The enemies of the revolution… use dialogue, economic trade, sanctions, military threats and any other means” and so “We should be able to confront and defend in all of these fields.”
Earlier this month, Iranian state television showed images of missiles being fired from a variety of underground locations. Later images showed that the missiles were marked with the words “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew. The tests are the third ballistic missile tests Iran has conducted since signing a long-term nuclear agreement with the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in July. Related nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted in January.
Such tests are a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1929, passed in 2010, which bans Iran from any ballistic missile development capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology. It is also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, passed the day after July’s accord was signed, which compels Iran to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for eight years.
Earlier this week, Britain, United States, Germany and France sent a joint letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon complaining that Iran has been testing missiles “inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons” which is “inconsistent with” and “in defiance of” resolution 2231. The letter asks the UN Security Council to discuss “appropriate responses” to the tests.
Meanwhile, Khamenei’s comments are also likely a response to former-Iranian President Rafsanjani, considered a relative moderate, who tweeted “the future is in dialogue, not missiles.”