Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has repeated Tehran’s criticism of fresh U.S. sanctions over Iran’s ballistic missile program, calling the sanctions “illegal” and justifying Tehran’s recent missile tests as “self defense.”
Zarif made the remarks on January 20 during an interview with the Associated Press in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to take part in a World Economic Forum debate that focuses on Iran.
The United States on January 17 announced fresh sanctions against 11 individuals and entities involved in Iran’s ballistic-missile program in response to missile tests by Tehran in October and November.
The sanctions came just a day after the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran under Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
A team of United Nations experts determined that Iran’s missile tests violated a 2010 UN Security Council resolution because the missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads more than 500 kilometers.