TEHRAN - The comments by the French ambassador to the UN about Iran are “biased” and “unrealistic”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday.

Following a report on the implementation of a Security Council resolution backing the July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, French envoy to the UN François Delattre told a UN Security Council meeting on Monday that “we think that it is important for the stability of the region for Iran to abstain from any destabilizing and dangerous activity.”

UN Resolution 2231, endorsing the nuclear agreement "calls upon" Iran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years.

Qassemi said, “Iran’s military capabilities, especially the missiles, are not designed to carry nuclear weapons and do not fall within authority of the UN Security Council’s resolution and its annexes.”

The Foreign Ministry official said the French envoy’s comments are “unrealistic” and are meant to cast shadow over France’s interference in Syrian affairs.

He added the French officials have “consciously” forgotten the Zionist regime’s actions as the main obstacle to regional peace.

According to several reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has lived up to its obligations under the nuclear deal, the official remarked.

It is essential that the Western countries also meet their commitment to the nuclear deal, he added.

Elsewhere, he said that Iran’s missile capabilities fall within a “legitimate defense” strategy.

In early March 2016, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired a series of ballistic missiles during military exercises.

NA/PA