Strong Iran Going Against Interests Of US, France - Iranian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2023) As the largest arms exporters in the region, the United States and France are concerned by the development of Iranian defense and do not wish for the country to be strong, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Friday.

On Thursday, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said that Paris was alarmed by the recent test launch of a ballistic missile conducted by Iran and considered it a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

"The same Western governments, most notably the US and France, who played an important role in inciting and supplying weapons ... to Saddam (Hussein's) regime for implementation of the military aggression and shelling of defenseless Iranian cities and people, and who are the region's largest suppliers of weapons are concerned today by Iran's progress and defensive power.

They object to Iran becoming strong," Kanaani tweeted.

On Thursday, Iran launched a new ballistic missile called Kheibar with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). Kheibar, the fourth generation of the Khorramshahr missile, is capable of carrying a warhead weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. The missile is equipped with anti-radar technology that allows it to penetrate enemy air defense systems and takes a short time to deploy, making it both a strategic and tactical weapon, the IRNA state news agency reported.