Iran confirms new missile test, says not against nuclear deal

[February 01, 2017]  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's defense minister said on Wednesday the Islamic Republic had tested a new missile, but added the test did not breach Tehran's nuclear accord with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.

Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but this is the first during U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Trump said in his election campaign that he would stop Iran's missile program.

"The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defense affairs," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said, according to Tasnim news agency .

"The test did not violate the nuclear deal or the (U.N.) resolution 2231," he said.

A U.S. official said on Monday that Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,010 km).

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif neither confirmed nor denied the U.S. report, but said on Tuesday that Tehran would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country.

The U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in a deal to curb Iran's nuclear activities, "called upon" Iran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles "designed to" deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the language does not make this obligatory.

An Iranian national flag flutters during the opening ceremony of the 16th International Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Exhibition (IOGPE) in Tehran April 15, 2011. REUTERS/STR/File Photo

Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry such payloads.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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