TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi warned on Saturday that the United States’ missile test will lead to international arms race and fuel instability.

“The U.S. action will lead to arms race at the international level which will fuel instability, threaten the international peace and security and will cause economic costs on other countries,” Mousavi stated.

He urged the international community to respond to the U.S. destabilizing actions.

In a test on August 18, a modified ground-launched version of a U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missile accurately struck its target more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. The test came after Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, according to AP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military on Friday to work out a quid pro quo response after the test of a new U.S. missile banned under a now-defunct arms treaty.

Speaking at a meeting of his Security Council, Putin charged that the U.S. waged a “propaganda campaign” alleging Russian breaches of the pact to “untie its hands to deploy the previously banned missiles in different parts of the world.”

He ordered the Defense Ministry and other agencies to “take comprehensive measures to prepare a symmetrical answer.”

The U.S. said it withdrew from the treaty because of Russian violations, a claim that Moscow has denied.

NA/PA