TEHRAN - Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, has said claims by the United States that the launch of a satellite by Iran is a violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are instances of “double standards” and “hypocrisy”.

“US claims that recent launch of a military satellite by #Iran was a violation of 2231 UNSC res. Wrong interpretation. But there is also a different curious aspect- the US attempt to build on the resolution, which It undermines by all possible means. Double standards and hypocrisy,” Ulyanov tweeted on Sunday.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps successfully launched Iran’s first military satellite into the orbit on Wednesday, April 22.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed the launch violated the Security Council resolution.

“I think every nation has an obligation to go to the United Nations and evaluate whether this missile launch was consistent with that Security Council resolution,” Pompeo told reporters, according to the Guardian.

In a statement on Thursday, France also claimed the launch was in contravention of Resolution 2231 and called on Tehran to immediately cease all activities related to the development of ballistic missiles designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Britain also claimed on Friday that Iran’s launch of the military satellite is inconsistent with a UN Security Council resolution.

Germany also said that Berlin's position on the Islamic Republic’s missile program has not changed, and the program has a destabilizing impact on the region.

In response, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that both the U.S. and Europe cannot lecture Iran based on a misreading of Resolution 2231 which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Zarif said the United States has violated Resolution 2231 and Europe has obeyed Washington instead of abiding by the resolution.

“US has been bullying all against UNSC Resolution 2231 since 2017. Europe obeyed US instead of 2231. Neither can lecture Iran based on flimsy misreadings of UNSCR 2231,” Zarif tweeted.

Zarif said, “Iran neither has nukes nor missiles ‘DESIGNED to be capable of carrying’ such horrific arms.”

Zarif also posted news headlines which say the U.S., France, Britain and the Zionist regime of Israel possess and develop nuclear weapons.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Friday that France and Britain’s stance on Iran’s launch of the military satellite shows that Paris and London have given in to the United States’ bullying.

“The European countries’ lack of action against the United States while it violated the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 by quitting the JCPOA [the 2015 nuclear deal] shows their double standards and also giving in to the United States’ bullying,” Mousavi pointed out.

He strongly dismissed France and Britain’s biased interpretation of the UN resolution.

“Iran’s nuclear program is just for peaceful purposes based on the fatwa issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] which has been approved by (numerous) reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency. So, Iran’s space program is for defensive objectives and has not been designed for other purposes,” he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday dismissed the U.S. claim that Iran violated resolution 2231 and accused Washington of being in violation of the nuclear deal.

Addressing a news conference in Moscow on Thursday, she said that this would not be the first time that a nation (U.S.) that has “flagrantly breached the norms of international law and violated the UNSC Resolution 2231”.

The 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, was endorsed by the Resolution 2231. The United States officially quit the JCPOA in May 2018 and the European countries have since failed to guarantee Iran’s benefits from the international deal.

Resolution 2231 terminated the provisions of previous UN resolutions against Iran. It also “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.”

Tehran has always said it has no nuclear warheads and that none of its missiles have been designed to carry nuclear weapons.

NA/PA