TEHRAN- The meddling remarks about Iran’s first hypersonic missile by certain Western nations have been denounced as “invalid” by Iran, who asserted that its missile activities are “conventional” under international law.

“The missile activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are conventional, defensive and completely legitimate based on international law,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Thursday.

The remarks by Kanaani followed after the U.S., UK, and France made negative comments on the debut of Iran’s first hypersonic missile called Fattah.

“Hosting nuclear missiles and playing a destructive role in regional and international issues, these countries, which have a long and clear history of violating their international obligations in various fields, including nuclear tests and the non-proliferation regime, have no right to comment on the legitimate and completely legal defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Kanaani said. 

The Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) placed Fattah on display on Tuesday. The 1,400-kilometer-range hypersonic missile can move up to 15 times faster than sound while dodging air defenses.

President Ebrahim Raisi, who attended the unveiling ceremony, said the new missile will increase Iran’s “power of deterrence” and “bring peace and stability to the countries of the region.”

Reacting to the development, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department Vedant Patel said Washington’s “concerns about Iran’s missile program are well-established.”

France expressed alarm about Iran’s development of a new missile, calling it “yet another breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.”

The UK Foreign Office claimed that Iran’s “continued disregard of international sanctions” is further demonstrated by the missile’s unveiling.

In his response, Kanaani stated that the U.S., UK, and Australia’s signing of the AUKUS pact is “a clear example of nuclear powers’ political and discriminatory approach on transferring technology and highly-enriched uranium to a non-nuclear country in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).”

America and Britain promise to assist Australia in building at least eight nuclear-powered but unarmed submarines.

The spokesperson praised the Iranian Armed Forces’ continuing efforts and strategic breakthroughs in bolstering the nation’s defensive might.

Such initiatives, he said, are a proper and efficient way to repel threats from abroad and protect Iran’s national security.

Iran reiterates worry over military action in Ukraine

Also on Thursday, Iran reaffirmed its opposition to the Ukraine war and called for finding about the major cause of the demolition of a dam in Ukraine’s Kherson region and identifying the culprits.

Writing on his Twitter account, Kanaani said the damage to the dam endangers civilian life and asked all sides to follow internationally accepted conventions.

The Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam broke early on Tuesday, sending torrents pouring over the southern Ukraine combat zone and driving tens of thousands of people from their homes. Russia and Ukraine have swapped accusations of responsibility for the disaster.

Russia has said that Ukraine used heavy artillery attacks to deliberately destroy the dam. Kiev has also said Moscow was in charge of the explosion.

Alexander Shulgin, the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, said Kiev purposefully increased the reservoir’s water level to a dangerous level before launching the attack.

The Russian-controlled Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River burst on Tuesday, causing floods that swamped the whole region and forced hundreds of civilians to flee territories controlled by Russia and Ukraine.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional governor, said on social media that the Kherson region is under water to a total of 600 square kilometers.