Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has lashed out at the US for hypocritically accusing Tehran of violating the "very same" UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that Washington itself is breaching.
"'Surrealism' is now the US' modus operandi in its foreign affairs," Zarif tweeted, referring to UNSC Resolution 2231 which represented the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
‘Surrealism’ is now the US' modus operandi in its foreign affairs: While itself violates UNSCR 2231—and even threatens to punish those who don't wish to violate it in abiding with illegal US sanctions—it now falsely accuses Iran of violating the very SAME resolution. #Hypocrisy
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) 2 декабря 2018 г.
Zarif wrote that Washington even threatens to slap punitive measures on those who "don't wish to violate it [the resolution] in abiding with illegal US sanctions."
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His remarks came after Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the Iranian military, denied Tehran breaching the UNSC Resolution 2231, saying that the Islamic Republic will continue ballistic missile tests in the future.
"Missile tests […] are carried out for defence and the country's deterrence, and we will continue this. We will continue to both develop and test missiles. This is outside the framework of [nuclear] negotiations and part of our national security, for which we will not ask any country's permission," Shekarchi stressed.
READ MORE: Iran to Continue Missile Tests, Needs No Permits From Other Countries – Army
Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that Iran tested a medium-range ballistic missile, in an alleged violation of the UNSC Resolution 2231, which he said 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."
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of continuing its ballistic missile program which Iran says is fully in line with the UNSC he Resolution 2231 that doesn't ban the Islamic Republic from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles.
