Senior Khamenei Adviser Ali Akbar Velayati said that Iran rejects UNSC Resolution 2231’s restrictions on the country’s development or testing of ballistic missiles. PHOTO: Fars News.

A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the country rejects the United Nations Security Council’s restrictions on Tehran’s ballistic missile program, the regime-aligned Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Ali Akbar Velayati, who is also a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, said the restrictions on the testing of ballistic missiles, which he categorized as being part of the country’s defense capabilities, were unacceptable from Iran’s viewpoint.

“The recent UNSC Resolution on Iran’s defensive capabilities, specially (sic) its missiles, is unacceptable to Iran,” semi-official state news agency Fars quoted Velayati as telling reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with a science delegation from the U.N.’s Non-Aligned Movement.

The U.N. resolution referenced by Velayati calls on Iran to refrain from working on its ballistic missiles for a period of eight years following the start of the recently announced nuclear deal with world powers.

He claimed that the U.N. sought to undermine Iranian sovereignty and the “Iranian-Islamic” character of the state through such resolutions.

Velayati’s comments follow another statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry last Monday regarding this issue, which also insisted that Iran’s ballistic missile program and capabilities would neither be affected nor restricted by Security Council Resolution 2231.