Iran on Thursday rejected claims that missile tests conducted this week violate the nuclear agreement it reached with the U.S. and other nations or a United Nations resolution.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said the missiles were conventional armaments for "legitimate defense" and not designed for carrying nuclear warheads, the state-controlled IRNA news agency reported.
Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles, one of them with the phrase "Israel should be wiped off the Earth" written on it in Hebrew, Iranian news media reported Wednesday. Iranian officials say the phrase was added by workers on the ground and was not a decision made by higher-level officials.
The nuclear deal does not directly address missile restrictions. The U.N. Security Council lifted its ban on such testing when the deal was struck, but passed a resolution that "calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles ... including launches using such ballistic missile technology."
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, said Iran has the right to test missiles — and has no interest in starting a war with any nation, including Israel.
"In the event of any military attack on us, we not only defend ourselves but also will tit-for-tat with various means such as our missiles," he added.
The State Department said Secretary John Kerry expressed his "concerns" to Iran Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Zarif. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday that the department is still trying to determine exactly what transpired.
"We are not under any illusions that, just because we have the (nuclear deal), Iran will stop the other disruptive activities in the region," Toner said. "We will hold them accountable for their actions."
Vice President Biden, speaking Wednesday at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, said if Iran breaks the terms of last year's nuclear deal reached with world powers "we will act.”
Iran said the missiles were fired at a target 870 miles away. Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the launches as a "gross violation" of the U.N. resolution that confirmed the nuclear agreement and restricts Iran from launching missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The missile range would reach all of Israel and parts of other Middle East nations, the ministry said in a statement.
"The development of ground-to-ground missiles with nuclear warhead capability calls into question Iran’s intentions to comply in full with the nuclear agreement," the statement said.
Many international economic sanctions on Iran were lifted Jan. 16 after a landmark deal with the United States and five other world powers in July to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to sanctions.
The U.S implemented the sanctions related to the missile program the following day.
Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara
