Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Iran’s launch of a military satellite into the orbit does not contradict UN Security Council resolution on the Iranian nuclear program.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully launched Iran’s first military satellite into the orbit on Wednesday.

The first military satellite, dubbed Noor 1 [Light 1], was launched upon Ghased (Messenger) satellite carrier in the early hours of Wednesday from a location in the central desert of Iran, Sepah News reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doubted the launch’s compliance with UN resolutions. France and Germany have also criticized Iran’s launch of a military satellite into space.

Zakharova said at a briefing, “This is not the first time that a state, which grossly violates international law and UNSC resolution 2231, is trying to deflect international condemnation by accusing Iran of unproven violation of the requirements of the Security Council. We qualify such methods as unscrupulous, they have long discredited themselves, and have proved their full insolvency. This is confirmed by the results of numerous discussions in the UN Security Council on the implementation of resolution 2231,” UrduPoint News reported.

“As you know, neither the resolution itself, nor the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program in any way limits Tehran’s rights and capabilities in terms of space exploration and development of relevant national programs,” she said.

Iran does not develop ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear weapons, Zakharova said.

“The futile attempts of some analysts in Washington to present the case as if Iranian space rockets were capable of carrying nuclear weapons is, of course, a fraud that breaks down once it faces reality. There are no, there were no, and hopefully there will never be nuclear weapons in Iran. Iran just as what the resolution calls for does not develop, test or use ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, unlike the United States, which surprises the world every single day with news about plans to develop their nuclear missile capabilities,” she said.

She stressed that over the past few years since the conclusion of the JCPOA, Iran has remained the most audited state by the IAEA, and the agency has not found any nuclear weapons there.

NA/PA