US rants on IRGC satellite launch irrelevant: Veteran Iranian MP

A senior Iranian lawmaker has dismissed allegations by Washington that Tehran’s recent satellite launch was in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying it was in fact the United States that violated the UN document by abandoning a 2015 multinational nuclear deal.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a veteran member of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, said Monday “America’s rants that Iran’s [placing a satellite into orbit] breaches UNSC Resolution 2231 are irrelevant.”

He made the remarks in response to last week's allegations by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Iran needed to “be held accountable for” the launch of a military satellite because the move was not consistent with Resolution 2231.

“Americans showed their opposition to the [UNSC] resolution by withdrawing from the JCPOA, and the Europeans proved they were incapable of adhering to the agreement by failing to implement it,” said the Iranian lawmaker, referring to the nuclear deal officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

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Resolution 2231 endorsed the multilateral nuclear accord which was signed between Iran and the major world powers, including the United States, in 2015.

However, US President Donald Trump, in defiance of the resolution and global criticism, pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Pompeo’s new claims came days after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully placed the Islamic Republic’s first ever military satellite — dubbed Nour-1 (Light 1) — in its designated orbit on April 22, aboard a rocket which was also the country’s first three-stage launch vehicle to successfully deliver its load.

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Boroujerdi further said major countries like Russia and China had already dismissed US claims about Iran’s achievement, adding that the launch shows Iran has maintained its independence despite being under “extensive American sanctions.”

He said the launch was in line with the “inalienable right” of Iran or any other country to take steps towards scientific progress by relying on its own capabilities.

By conducting the launch, Iran proved that “reliance on national capabilities free from dependence on major powers can guarantee much greater success.”

He said that the satellite launch disrupted equations in the region and enhanced the position of the Islamic Republic.

The launch “gave the hope to the countries of the region that relying on national capabilities is better than dependence on major world powers since those power are only concerned about safeguarding their own interests,” he added.

“The anger of the Americans and Western countries on the one hand and the delight of the Iran's and the resistance front …, on the other, further prove the significance of such a great triumph,” Boroujerdi said.

The legislator reaffirmed that Iran’s policy remained defensive in nature and said, “We oppose any aggression against any country and, as we have repeatedly stated that, we will not allow any of our national interests to be violated.”

Resolution 2231 calls on Iran to avoid “any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

Iran has time and again made it clear that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons or missiles capable of delivering such warheads.

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