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TEHRAN, Dec. 2-- Iran will continue to develop and test missiles in line with its deterrence policy despite adversarial positions taken on this issue by the U.S. officials, a spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces said here on Sunday. "Missile tests and the overall defensive capability of the Islamic republic are for defense purposes and in line with our country's deterrence policy," Abolfazl Shekarchi said. "We will continue to both test and develop missiles," he said, adding that "this issue is outside the framework of any negotiations and is part of our national security." "We will not ask for any country's permission in this regard," he stressed. Iran has assured regional countries that the boost of missiles power of the Islamic republic does not hurt the interests of other countries, Shekarchi said. "Such measures are only in line with boosting the country's deterrent and defense power," he added. Shekarchi made the remarks in reaction to an earlier remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, that Iran's ballistic missile tests violated the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231. Pompeo said on Saturday that "the Iranian regime has just test-fired a medium range ballistic missile that's capable of carrying multiple warheads. This test violates UNSCR 2231." "We condemn these activities and call upon Iran to cease immediately all activities relating to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons," he said. | 
