Zarif Responds to Pompeo: Iranian Missiles Are Not Designed to Carry Nuclear Weapons

Two days after the U.S. Secretary of State stated that Iran recently tested a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, his Iranian counterpart did not deny the new missile test but stated that "these Iranian missiles are not produced to carry nuclear weapons." The discussion surrounding such a test has intensified, with France calling it "provocative and destabilizing," Britain describing it as "provocative, threatening, and inconsistent" with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and UN Security Council members set to meet behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss Iran's missile test. Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, first revealed the news of Iran's missile test on Saturday, stating that testing such a missile, which can target parts of Europe and the entire Middle East, violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The following day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry, through its spokesperson Bahram Qasemi, neither confirmed nor denied the new test of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He only stated that "no resolution in the Security Council prohibits Iran's missile program or missile tests." During a press conference on Monday, Qasemi was asked whether Iran had conducted a missile test in recent days, to which he replied that this question should be directed to military officials. He continued, "If such a test had been conducted, Iran's defense officials would have informed about it, and as I said, I have no information in this regard." Among the military officials, on Monday, Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's armed forces, reacted to the issue, stating that Iran will "certainly continue" its missile tests. He added that "we will continue both testing and missile development" and that the Islamic Republic "has missile testing and development on its agenda and does not seek permission from any country in this regard." Following these developments, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, provided explanations on Tuesday regarding the issue of the capability of missiles tested in Iran to carry nuclear weapons. The Iranian Foreign Minister stated: "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." He added, "Missiles designed for nuclear warheads do not require precision, and to achieve precision, high costs are needed. The Islamic Republic has shown with its recent attack on terrorists that its missiles are highly accurate." Zarif further stated that "Resolution 2231 does not prohibit missile tests for Iran concerning missiles capable of carrying warheads; rather, it asks Iran not to use such missiles.... it has been requested that Iran not use such missiles." He emphasized: "The statements of the U.S. Secretary of State regarding Iranian missile tests are fundamentally incorrect, and they should better study Resolution 2231." Resolution 2231 of the UN Security Council, issued after the 2015 nuclear agreement, requests Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Zarif's explanations regarding the details of Iran's missiles and related tests come as the Foreign Ministry spokesperson had stated a day earlier in response to reporters' questions: "You should ask military officials this question, and what pertains to the Foreign Ministry is to express Iran's general positions regarding its defense policies, which I spoke about in this session." Recently, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and "concerned individuals" of obstructing the implementation of the JCPOA with missile tests, deeming them "the cause of the current situation in the country." On August 1, Motahari stated: "Those responsible for the current situation in the country are those who tried to prevent the JCPOA from being implemented by launching missiles, which they indeed succeeded in achieving." Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran's economic situation has faced serious challenges, and European parties to the nuclear agreement with Iran are currently trying to prepare a financial mechanism to assist Iran in implementing the JCPOA. On Tuesday, Zarif also addressed this issue, stating: "There seems to be an excessive caution from the Europeans." However, he added, "We hope to hear good news in the coming days regarding the financial channel with Europe, as we have received positive preliminary information from the Europeans for establishing this channel."