Iranian Foreign Ministry defends North Korean rocket launch

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Hasan Qashqavi, defended North Korea's defiant rocket launch on Monday, saying that all nations are entitled to the peaceful use of space technology. North Korea claims it launched an experimental communications satellite into orbit Sunday, but the country's critics say it was an illicit test of the regime's long-range missile technology. On Sunday, Iran state television said that pressure on North Korea to give up that right was unfair. Iran also has a contentious relationship with the international community over its missile and nuclear programs and is believed to have cooperated extensively with North Korea on missile technology. Iran denies the accusations.