The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and six major countries including Russia in July 2015, was followed shortly by a UN Security Council resolution calling on Tehran to refrain from ballistic missile tests.
Uliyanov explained that an annex to Resolution 2231 calls 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."
"On the other hand, they do not prohibit these launches. This is a compromise. Breaking a compromise is unproductive, it is fraught, it is unfair," the diplomat stressed. "There are no restrictions on the development of missile technology in relation to Iran."
Uliyanov compared Iran's position to its neighbors, noting that "some of them are actively developing missile programs."
