Iran Not in Breach of UN Resolutions

A senior security official denied western allegations that Tehran's missile activities and regional operations defy UN resolutions.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's measures in the region do not violate the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, and the US is attempting to promote a distorted image of the Islamic Republic's activities aimed at restoring regional stability because Washington and its allies have failed in instrumentalizing terrorism to dictate their demands to independent countries in the region," Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said in an interview with the Al-Alam television news network on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump has been desperate to compel Tehran to curb its nuclear program and its role in the counter-terrorism campaign across the Middle East.

He issued an ultimatum to Washington's European allies to address those concerns, or he would withdraw from a multiparty nuclear deal with Iran in a few months.

His administration has accused Iran of violating resolution 2231, under which Iran is "called upon" to refrain from any work related to missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Iran argues that the resolution, which enshrines the nuclear agreement, has not used a binding language and insists it has never intended to develop nuclear-capable missiles.

Tehran also rejects charges of involvement in arms transfer subject to UN bans.

The United States claimed in November that a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi forces into Saudi Arabia had been supplied by Iran.

Resolution 2231 prohibits Tehran from supplying, selling or transferring weapons outside the country unless approved in advance by the UN Security Council.

Under a separate UN resolution on Yemen, the supply of weapons to Houthis is banned.

Iran denies supplying the Houthis with missiles and weapons.

Yemen has been beset by three years of civil war pitting Iran-allied Houthi fighters against a Saudi-led Arab coalition that has been conducting an air campaign to reinstall the ousted Yemeni president, Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.