Moscow, April 23, IRNA – The chairman of the Russian Duma's international affairs committee said that no UN Security Council Resolution bans Iran from launching satellites.

Konstantin Kasachov told reporters on Wednesday that Iranian officials' remarks about having launched a military satellite into space successfully does not violate the Resolution of the UNSC because it did not carry any nuclear ammunition.

Kasachov said that one should have in mind the fact that when a satellite is military, it does not mean it has a weapon inside.

The first military satellite of Iran was successfully put on orbit by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday.

According to the IRGC, ‘Noor Satellite’, the first Iranian military satellite, was launched by three-stage carrier Ghased and was placed in 425-km orbit.

Morgan Ortagus, the spokesperson for the United States Department of State, has claimed that IRGC’s has violated the Resolution 2231 of the UNSC with launching the satellite.

Kasachov said that after the international agreements on banning placing weapons of mass destruction into the orbit were confirmed, the goals of the military satellites are navigation, communications, and espionage.  

He added that Resolution 2231 asks Iran not to design ballistic missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads but it is not binding.

He went on to say that Iranians say that launching a satellite does not pertain to the UNSC Resolution and Tehran has the right to do so.

On the other hand, Russia has no information signifying that Iran has tested a missile for carrying nuclear weapons, he said.

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