Iran defies sanctions, says nuclear activities to continue with “full power”

Hours after it was slammed with fresh sanctions by the US in response to its launch of a satellite-carrying rocket into space on Thursday, Iran has vowed to press ahead with its missile programme, saying it will continue with “full power”.

Describing the fresh US sanctions as “an effort to weaken the nuclear deal”, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, said on Saturday that Tehran considers the US move as “hostile, reprehensible and unacceptable”.

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“It’s ultimately an effort to weaken the nuclear deal,” he said, referring to the 2015 agreement between Iran and US-led world powers that lifted some sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

“We will continue with full power our missile programme,” he said. “The military and missile fields […] are our domestic policies and others have no right to intervene or comment on them.”

The US accused Iran of violating UN convention and announced ballistic missiles sanctions on Friday targeting six Iranian subsidiaries of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which the US treasury department says is “central” to Iran’s ballistic missiles programme.

The US in a joint statement with Britain, France and Germany, had condemned the satellite-launch rocket test, saying it was in violation of the UN resolution.

 

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