Hawkish Republican Sen.�McCain made the remarks in a statement on Monday. His�statement came amid�media reports that Iran has conducted a medium-range ballistic missile test, Something Iran denied.
McCain said:
"It is long past�time for�the Obama administration to�disenthrall itself with�the dangerous illusion of�a new relationship with�Iran and adopt a comprehensive strategy to�counter Iran's malign influence and protect America�s national security interests."
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on the sidelines of a ceremony in Tehran Monday denied �media reports on recent test-firing of a 2000km range ballistic missile, stating��We had no missile test with a range published in media.�
Tasnim News Agency had earlier on Monday quoted Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi as saying that, �Two weeks ago, we tested a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and an error margin of eight meters.�
[caption id="attachment_205430" align="aligncenter" width="535"]
A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016.[/caption]Earlier on Friday, the White House and the departments of State and Defense all said they had not been able to verify reports that Iran had conducted a test.
Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last July�s nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.
Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last July�s nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.
