In this picture released by an official website of office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran, Iran, on June 14. Iran’s top leader says that if the next US president tears up the nuclear deal, Iran will “light it on fire.” AP
TEHRAN, Iran—Iran says it will continue its ballistic missile program after claims made by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that its missile tests aren’t in the spirit of the country’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers.
In comments published on Iran’s foreign ministry website Saturday, spokesperson Bahram Ghasemi says that “Iran will strongly continue its missile program based on its own defense and national security calculations.”
He says that Iran’s missile program is not linked to the nuclear deal and does not conflict with the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the agreement.
In the first six-month report to the UN Security Council on the implementation of the resolution, the UN chief calls on Iran to stop the tests and says they increase tensions in the Mideast.
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