Press TV - A top Iranian official says the Iranian people are legitimately entitled to make scientific and technological advances, especially in the field of aerospace, stressing that the country�s recent launch of its first-ever military satellite into orbit is for peaceful purposes and in line with Iran's defense doctrine.

On Thursday night, Abbas Mousavi also dismissed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo�s claim that the launch by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)�is a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, saying such meddlesome remarks will never shake the nation�s resolve for further progress.
�No resolution prohibits Iran from launching a satellite into space, and the US reference to Resolution 2231 is definitely irrelevant and at odds with reality.� Astonishingly, Resolution 2231 is the very resolution that Washington violated by withdrawing from the�JCPOA�(the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) [in May 2018],�and is yet clearly pressuring other independent countries to breach,� Mousavi pointed out.
The Iranian diplomat also rejected latest remarks by German�Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger that �the Iranian rocket program has a destabilizing effect on the region,� saying the statement comes at the time when Berlin itself intends to purchase fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs.

�Such double-standard policies threaten the security of the region, Europe and the world,� Mousavi noted.

Iran�s first military satellite, dubbed Nour-1 (Light 1), was launched onboard the Qased (Messenger) satellite carrier in the early hours of Wednesday from a location in Dasht-e Kavir, the central desert of Iran.

The satellite was placed into orbit 425 kilometers (265 miles) above the Earth�s surface.

Resolution 2231, which endorsed a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal between Iran and six other countries � from which the US later withdrew � �called on� Iran �not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,� but did not prohibit Tehran from launching satellites.

Furthermore, under other international law, including those governing space-related activities, all countries are allowed the right to the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.