Iran said on Monday that North Korea was justified in carrying out its controversial Sunday rocket launch and denied there were any links between the two countries' missile programmes. "We have always maintained that space can be used for peaceful purposes by adhering to international laws," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters when asked about Sunday's controversial rocket launch.
"As it is our right to do so, we maintain that others also have that right." According to AFP, he added the Iranian missile programme was entirely separate from North Korea's, despite international concern that they are linked. "The Islamic republic's missile programme is a separate and independent issue from North Korea's. Their programme started years ago and their launch was not the first one," he said.
