Hawkish Republican Sen.McCain made the remarks in a statement on Monday. Hisstatement came amidmedia reports that Iran has conducted a medium-range ballistic missile test, Something Iran denied.
McCain said:
"It is long pasttime forthe Obama administration todisenthrall itself withthe dangerous illusion ofa new relationship withIran and adopt a comprehensive strategy tocounter Iran's malign influence and protect Americas national security interests."
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on the sidelines of a ceremony in Tehran Monday denied media reports on recent test-firing of a 2000km range ballistic missile, statingWe had no missile test with a range published in media.
Tasnim News Agency had earlier on Monday quoted Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi as saying that, Two weeks ago, we tested a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and an error margin of eight meters.
[caption id="attachment_205430" align="aligncenter" width="535"]
A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016.[/caption]Earlier on Friday, the White House and the departments of State and Defense all said they had not been able to verify reports that Iran had conducted a test.
Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last Julys nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.
Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last Julys nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.
