A senior foreign ministry official said on Tuesday Tehran's defense capabilities will not be part of future nuclear talks with the major powers, reaffirming that the country's missile capability is "non-negotiable".
Abbas Araqchi said, "Our country's missile program is entirely defensive in nature and the Islamic Republic of Iran does not negotiate on the country's defense issues … with any foreign side," Fars news agency reported.
He also said, "The launch of the domestically made Fajr satellite into orbit … is in line with the country's long-term policy of maintaining its presence in space to strengthen its telecommunications infrastructures."
Iran successfully launched a domestically manufactured satellite into space on Monday on the second day of the national celebrations marking the 36th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Fajr (literally meaning Dawn) was the fourth homemade satellite which has been put into orbit.
The satellite was developed by Iranian experts at Iran Electronics Industries, known as SAIRAN. It is said to be a reconnaissance satellite powered by solar energy and will transmit images of the Earth's surface to ground stations.
Araqchi's remarks came in response to earlier comments by US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in which she had claimed that Iran's ballistic missile capabilities were part of the ongoing talks between Tehran and the six major powers (the United State, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany) over Tehran's nuclear program.
In her regular press briefing on Monday Psaki also claimed, "Iran's missile program continues to pose a dangerous threat to the region and is an issue we monitor closely. And our longstanding concerns regarding Iran's missile development efforts are shared by the international community, which has passed a series of UN Security Council resolutions focused on Iran's proliferation-sensitive activities."
