US, Europe cannot tolerate Iran’s advances: Commander

Iran's chief Armed Forces spokesman says the United States and its European allies oppose the country’s successful test of a satellite carrier, because they cannot tolerate the Islamic Republic’s great advances.

Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday that the Americans claimed that the test was a breach of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, but this interpretation was legally wrong.

“From our point of view, the approach taken by the US and a number of European countries is completely worthless and will have no impact on the trend of our progress,” he added.

Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center on Thursday successfully launched its domestically-manufactured Simorgh satellite carrier, whose mission is to put Iranian satellites into the orbit.

Designed and developed with the latest standards in mind, Iran’s new space rocket can carry satellites weighing up to 250 kilograms (550 pounds) about 500 kilometers (310 miles) away, well within the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

US State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, claimed on Thursday that the rocket launch violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

She called Iran's rocket launch a "provocative action" that violated the "spirit" of the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.

Iran has repeatedly announced that its missile launches are not against the Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the JCPOA.

Simorgh's launch came as the US Congress passed new sanctions against Iran over its development of missiles for defensive purposes. The bill, which also includes sanctions against Russia and North Korea, awaits US President Donald Trump's approval.

Jazayeri further pointed to a motion prepared by the Iranian Parliament to counter Washington's adventurist measures, saying, “Steps taken by the US are certainly in violation of the JCPOA,” stressing the importance of adopting countermeasures against such moves by Washington.

The Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy on Saturday passed the general outlines of a motion to counter the terrorist and adventurous US measures in the region.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, who was also present in the extraordinary session of the committee, emphasized that an appropriate measure must be adopted in response to the “hostile and malicious” US moves given their adverse effect on the implementation of the JCPOA.

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• Iran Majlis committee OK’s US reply motion

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