Mousavi: Iran has a legitimate right to develop science and technology

On 23 April, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi stated that the development of science and technology, especially in the aerospace industry, was Iran's legitimate right and stressed that the successful launch of the Nur satellite was for peaceful purposes and was in line with the country's national defense policy. This was reported by the Iranian agency IRNA on April 24. He made the remarks in response to recent remarks by US authorities about Tehran's satellite launch, calling it interference in Iran's internal affairs and saying that such interventions could never undermine the Iranian people's determination to advance their scientific programs. No resolution prohibited Iran from sending satellites into space, and U.S. citation of Resolution 2231 is definitely inappropriate and contrary to reality, given the fact that it is the same resolution that Washington violated when it withdrew from the JCPOA, with the U.S. itself putting pressure on other independent countries to also violate it, a Foreign Ministry official said. Rejecting Germany's stance on the Iranian satellite launch, Mousavi said the German Foreign Ministry was expressing concern about the country's domestic satellite launch at a time when Germany's defense minister had told reporters of the decision to buy a fighter jet capable of carrying a nuclear bomb. Such a policy of double standards threatens the security of the region, Europe and the world, Musavi said.