The Iranian regime on Thursday claimed to have successfully tested a rocket that can deliver satellites into orbit, an action the United States said breaches a United Nations Security Council resolution because of its potential use in ballistic missile development.
Iranian state television showed footage of the firing of the rocket, mounted on a launchpad carrying pictures of Ruhollah Khomeini and the current Supreme Leader of the mullahs’ regime Ali Khamenei.
The rocket launch violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Thursday.
That resolution, which endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran’s regime and world powers, calls upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such technology, Reuters reported.
“We would consider that a violation of UNSCR 2231,” Nauert said at a briefing with reporters when asked about the launch.
“We consider that to be continued ballistic missile development. … We believe that what happened overnight, in the early morning hours here in Washington, is inconsistent with the Security Council resolutions.”
The United States this month slapped new economic sanctions on Iran’s regime over its ballistic missile program.
Nauert called Tehran’s rocket launch a “provocative action” that violated the “spirit” of the nuclear deal.