France’s foreign minister on Monday accused Iran of not respecting part of a UN resolution that calls on it to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads, Reuters reported.
Speaking upon arrival at a European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Jean-Yves Le Drian also said the 28 ministers would reiterate their concerns over Iran’s activities in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, which he described as destabilizing.
“We will also have the opportunity of underlining our firmness on Iran’s compliance with United Nations Resolution 2231, which limits access to ballistic capacity and which Iran does not respect,” Le Drian was quoted as having said.
Under the UN resolution enshrining the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers, Iran is “called upon” to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to 8 years.
The United States has several times imposed sanctions on Iran in response to the tests, saying they violate UN resolutions.
Iranian officials, including, President Hassan Rouhani, have stressed that Iran will continue to produce missiles for its defense and does not consider that a violation of international agreements.
The Islamic Republic claims its missile program is purely defensive and denied they are designed to carry nuclear warheads.
French President Emmanuel Macron has in the past said Iran's ballistic missile program was "very worrying". While he did not rule out new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program, he opined that such measures should be included in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which should not be canceled.
