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Not up to France to decide on Iran’s missile program: Pundit

Saturday, 18 November 2017 6:04 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 18 November 2017 6:04 PM ]

This file handout picture released by Iran's Defense Ministry on July 27, 2017 shows a Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite rocket at its launch site at an undisclosed location in Iran. (Photo by AFP)

An academic says “it is not up to France or any other country” to make decisions about Iran’s ballistic missile program, adding that the Islamic Republic needs missiles as a means of deterrence given the fact that it lives in “a very dangerous neighborhood.”

“There are no restrictions on missile programs whether it is ballistic missiles, cruise missiles. There are no international conventions restricting a country’s missile program. There are restrictions on making a nuclear weapon, there are restrictions on chemical weapons or biological weapons but no international restrictions on missile programs. So it is not up to the French government or any other government to tell Iran what to do with its missiles,” Foad Izadi, a lecturer at University of Tehran, told PressTV in an interview on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that a new series of criteria and a new treaty should be negotiated with Iran to stop their ballistic activities in the region.

Iran has vehemently ruled out any negotiation on its missile program which it deems as an inseparable plank of its national security, meant for defense and deterrence.