TEHRAN -- The United States demonstrated its “immoral and hegemonic nature” by linking the Islamic Republic’s great scientific achievements to the issue of weapons of mass destruction, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini stated here on Tuesday.

“Calling Iran’s advancements threatening is an indecent and deceptive action,” Hosseini said in a statement.
Iran fired a research rocket on Monday to inaugurate its first space center which will be used to launch research satellites.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad ordered the launch of the “Researcher One” rocket which will carry the first homemade satellite named Omid (Hope) into orbit in the next Iranian calendar year (begins March 20).
The space center includes an underground control station and launch pad for the satellite.
Referring to the launch of the rocket by Iran, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, “It’s unfortunate that they continue to do that because it further isolates the country from the rest of the world.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack described the event as “another troubling development”.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman urged the U.S. officials to “respect other nations’ rights and avoid illogical moves against the realities.”
“Iran’s recent scientific achievement in aerospace area is the sign of a great nation’s self-confidence for reaching the great heights of science and technology,” he said