Tasnim - Iran�s Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed concern about France�s recent testing of a ballistic missile capable of carrying several nuclear warheads, saying it runs counter to French commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The French Navy�s launch of a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying several nuclear warheads (dubbed M51 missile) was totally in contravention of the spirit and the text of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and of France�s commitment to nuclear disarmament, Seyed Abbas Mousavi said in a statement on Saturday.

�The Islamic Republic of Iran�s government expresses concern about such measure, believes that the French government must not ignore its international commitments under the Article VI of the NPT and declaration of the NPT Review Conferences, and calls on Paris to fully honor its international commitments to nuclear disarmament,� Mousavi added.

He finally slammed nuclear weapons as a threat to international peace and security, noting that renovation and testing of such weapons would undermine the NPT as the cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

The French Ministry of Armed Forces announced on June 12 the launch of an M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from Le T�m�raire, a Triomphant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.