Iran Accuses the U.S. of 'Exploiting' the Security Council for 'Malicious' Purposes

On Wednesday, December 5, Iran's UN mission accused the United States of 'exploiting' the Security Council to advance its 'malicious purposes' against Tehran, describing its policies as 'hypocritical and brazen.' This statement was issued in response to a closed-door Security Council meeting on December 4, which was set to discuss Iran's latest missile test. The U.S. had called for condemnation of this missile test, while France and Britain also believe that the test violates Security Council Resolution 2231. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue of the missile test on Twitter, labeling Iran as a violator of Resolution 2231 for testing a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. In response to this meeting and Pompeo's remarks, Iran's UN mission stated, 'While all activities related to Iran's ballistic missiles are fully compliant with Security Council Resolution 2231, it is the U.S. that has completely violated this resolution.' The statement characterized the portrayal of Iran's missile program as inconsistent with the resolution or as a regional threat as 'a deceptive and hostile policy' from the U.S., urging it to stop 'exploiting' the Security Council for its 'malicious purposes' against Iran and to adhere to the provisions of Resolution 2231. Iran's UN mission added that the U.S. presents itself as a 'law-abiding country and guardian of the rule of law internationally,' yet engages in 'violations' of international law by illegally exiting the JCPOA, which was endorsed by Resolution 2231. Iran also protested against the U.S. pressure on other countries to 'violate Resolution 2231' and 'threatening' them with 'punishment' if they comply. According to this statement, 'The U.S. seeks to create ambiguity and confusion in interpreting the relevant provisions of Resolution 2231 by providing fabricated and distorted information and citing irrelevant criteria, and to exploit it against Iran.' The statement firmly rejected any 'arbitrary interpretation' of the provisions of Resolution 2231 and reiterated that Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and that 'Iran's missile program is exclusively designed for carrying conventional warheads.' Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, also responded to the Security Council meeting by stating that Iran's missile program has no 'inconsistency' with the aforementioned Security Council resolution and accused the U.S. of turning a blind eye to Iran's 'transparent' policies with 'raw assumptions and baseless excuses.' He stated that while there is no 'planning' in Iran's 'documented and transparent' missile policies for having missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Tehran 'certainly does not adjust its defense programs based on unfounded concerns and baseless, targeted insinuations from certain countries.' Earlier, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, while not denying the new missile test, stated that 'these Iranian missiles are not produced to carry nuclear weapons.' He said, 'Iran is not seeking to use nuclear weapons; these Iranian missiles are not produced to carry nuclear weapons; in fact, our produced missiles are designed for conventional warheads.' Security Council Resolution 2231, issued after the 2015 nuclear agreement, calls on Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The details provided by Iran's Foreign Minister regarding the specifics of Iran's missiles and related tests come as the Foreign Ministry spokesperson had stated a day earlier in response to reporters' questions that 'you should ask military officials this question, and what pertains to the Foreign Ministry is to express Iran's general positions on its defense policies, which I spoke about in this session.' Iran's missile test has also provoked reactions from countries supporting the JCPOA, with France calling it 'provocative and destabilizing' and Britain describing it as 'provocative, threatening, and inconsistent' with the Security Council resolution.