He made the remarks on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Referring to US claims on Trump’s strategy which has led to a coalition to end the Iranian missile program, Hatami said, “The issue of satellite launch and satellite carrier is a clear issue in the world and is not related to missile subject.”
“In the missile issue, what is forbidden is the manufacture and launch of missiles with the capability of carrying nuclear warheads that do not exist in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.
“All of our missiles that we are proud of and an important component of the Islamic Republic of Iran's defense and military power are used with conventional warheads,” he said, adding, “Iran does not need any other kinds of missile as these missiles are with high accuracy and the Americans have also seen the precision of our missile on US military base Ain al-Asad in Iraq.”
“We may also use a satellite for defense purposes, but the satellite is a completely non-defensive subject and it is the absolute right of the Iranian nation.”
“We will pursue the development of this program of satellite carrier, and there is no barrier to implementation of this program in the world,” the defense minister added.
Stating that ‘Simorgh’ launcher is also managed to launch ‘Zafar II’ satellite, he said, “Our research on satellites and satellite carriers will be continued, and I think we can launch ‘Zafar II’ early next Iranian year (starting March 21).”
Iran on Sunday attempted to put remote sensing satellite 'Zafar' into orbit. The launch of 'Simorgh' satellite carrier rocket was successful, but the satellite did not reach the initial acceleration which is necessary to place itself in the orbit. ICT minister said another copy of Zafar would be sent into space in June.
MNA/FNA 13981123000363
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