Iran on Thursday rejected pressure to shelve its ballistic missile programme after a European letter to the UN Security Council accused Tehran of developing rockets capable of delivering nuclear bombs.
The British, German and French ambassadors to the council called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to tell the body that Iran’s missile programme was “inconsistent” with a UN resolution underpinning the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
Their letter talks of an Iranian missile “technically capable of delivering a nuclear weapon”.
Iran responded defiantly, saying it was determined to proceed with its missile programme, which it has repeatedly described as defensive and nothing to do with its nuclear activity.
"Iran is determined to resolutely continue its activities related to ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles," Iranian UN envoy Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in a letter to Mr Guterres.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif denounced the European powers' intervention.
"The latest E3 letter to UNSG on missiles is a desperate falsehood to cover up their miserable incompetence in fulfilling the bare minimum of their own obligations [under the deal]," Mr Zarif tweeted.
He urged Britain, France and Germany not to bow to "US bullying".
Tehran is gradually breaching its commitments under the deal in response to Washington’s withdrawal from the pact last year.
The US then reimposed sanctions on Iran that has crippled its economy.
A 2015 UN resolution called on Iran to refrain for up to eight years from work on ballistic missiles that could be capable of delivering nuclear warheads.
Some nations including Russia, which with four other world powers wields a veto on the Security Council, say the language does not make it obligatory.
France said on Thursday that Iran's ballistic missile activities did not conform with the Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to respect all of its obligations.
The Security Council is due to meet this month on compliance with the resolution underpinning the nuclear deal, and the European letter "will add to that discussion," a senior European diplomat told Reuters.
Britain, France and Germany have tried to salvage the nuclear pact, under which Iran undertook to curtail its disputed uranium enrichment programme for relief from sanctions.
But Tehran says Europe has failed to protect Iran's economy from US sanctions.
The US and its allies in the Middle East consider Iran's missile programme to be a regional security threat.
French President Emmanuel Macron in November expressed concern over Iran's nuclear weapons development, refusing to rule out further sanctions over its ballistic missile programme.
Iran conducted ballistic missile tests in the summer of 2019 and denies that they breach the resolution.
European states last month urged Iran to stick to its terms after the regime resumed uranium enrichment at its Fordow nuclear plant.
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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