Iran says it's not in talks with France on missile work
Iran said on Monday it was not holding talks with France over its ballistic missile
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday France was ready to impose further curbs if no progress was made in talks over the programme, described by Tehran as purely defensive but seen in the West as a destabilizing factor in a volatile region.
"Our missile programme is a defensive programme that we only discuss it inside the country. I cannot confirm holding any secret talks with France over our missile programme," Qasemi
"We talk about regional and political issues with France ... but our missile capability is not negotiable ... we have repeatedly said that during our political talks with France."
A U.N. Security Council resolution, which enshrined Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers in 2015, "called upon" Tehran to refrain for up to eight years from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons.
Iran says its missile tests are not in violation of the resolution and denies its missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
U.S. President Donald Trump exited the deal in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the pact in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.
As the Trump administration accused Iran last year of harboring nuclear ambitions and fomenting instability in the Middle East, the EU sought dialogue with Tehran.
At meetings between European and Iranian diplomats last year, Britain, France, Germany
But several bilateral talks on the ballistic missile programme have yielded no results and France, Britain
Trump said the deal, which Tehran and other signatories are trying to salvage it, was flawed as it did not address ballistic missiles or Iran’s support for armed proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon