Tehran Slams UK’s Interventionist Statement on Iran’s Satellite Launch

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has robustly denounced an "interventionist" statement by the British government on the Islamic Republic's latest satellite launch.

"Achievement of scientific and research advancements, including in the field of aerospace, is the Islamic Republic's obvious right," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday.

Such meddlesome statements that indicate "the British regime's irritation and self-centered attitudes" concerning the Islamic Republic's advancements, fail to adversely affect "the Iranian nation's determination towards progress in the field of science and technology," he added.

As per international regulations, the spokesperson affirmed, Iran faces no restrictions in furthering its space research.

The country, therefore, reserves its right to use peaceful technologies towards scientific advancement, Kanaani concluded.

London's statement came after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards [IRG] Aerospace Force successfully launched the homegrown imaging satellite Nour [Light]-3 into orbit in late September.

The statement said the Qased [Messenger] satellite carrier that had been used to put the satellite into orbit, had used "technology essential for the development of a long-range ballistic missile system," before repeating the West's accusations against Iran's missile work of being geared towards non-conventional purposes.

The Islamic Republic has, on all occasions, strongly rejected all such allegations, insisting that its missile tests and rocket launches are solely for defensive purposes and not designed to carry nuclear warheads.