Iran's Strong Protest Against Recent UN Secretary-General's Report

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated that the Islamic Republic has expressed its "strong protest" against the recent remarks made by Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In comments published in the Tuesday, July 22 edition of the state newspaper Iran, Mr. Araghchi mentioned that Iran is also "in talks" with Mr. Ban and "negotiating countries." According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, although the recent report by the UN Secretary-General has not yet been officially released, the published draft is "unbalanced." Ban Ki-moon, in a report to the members of the UN Security Council released in recent days, stated that Iran's missile tests are "inconsistent with the spirit" of the nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and global powers. An unnamed Iranian official reacted by urging Mr. Ban not to address matters that contradict the text of the JCPOA. On the other hand, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have recently expressed concern over Iran's missile programs. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, responded to these issues by saying that their timing indicates a "conspiracy" and added: "I feel that they are laying the groundwork and cooking against us." Mr. Araghchi also told the state newspaper Iran that "if one day we conclude that Iran's enemies have abandoned their conspiracy, we should be surprised" and added: "Our missile capabilities have always caused concern for the West, but in any case, our defensive capabilities have always been and will always be a very prominent red line for us." The Deputy Foreign Minister, who is also responsible for the committee monitoring the nuclear agreement, emphasized that in Security Council Resolution 2231, the cessation of Iran's missile programs is not mentioned as a "binding demand" from the Islamic Republic. Iran has always emphasized that its missile programs are purely defensive, but Europe, the United States, and Israel are very concerned about the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile tests.