MOSCOW: Iran will continue to conduct missile tests without asking other countries for permit, a spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces said on Sunday.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran had test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile in violation of the UN Security Council resolution 2231 that bans Iran from undertaking "any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology."
"Tests of missiles and other means of the defense industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran are aimed at ensuring defence and deterrence, everything will continue as it is and we will continue to test and develop missiles This issue is beyond the negotiations and relates to our national security, we will not ask any other country for permit," Abolfazl Shekarchi said, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.
Earlier in the day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry refuted the claims of Pompeo that the Iranian missile program allegedly violated the UN Security Council's resolutions.