France on Monday condemned Iran’s failed attempt a day earlier to launch a satellite into space, urging Tehran to abide by its international obligations regarding intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“France condemns this launch, which calls on technologies used for ballistic missiles and, in particular, intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said the French Foreign Ministry in a statement.
“Iran’s ballistic program hurts regional stability and affects European security,” the statement said, calling on Tehran to “fully respect its international obligations in this matter.”
Iran announced on Sunday that it had successfully launched the communications satellite Zafar 1 from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in northern Iran atop a Simorgh rocket, but that the satellite had failed to attain sufficient speed to make it into orbit.
Also on Sunday, Iran unveiled a new short-range ballistic missile called the Raad-500.
The United States has also expressed concern that Iran’s satellite program is being used as cover for ballistic-missile research.
