Tehran, Iran, March 15
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iran's missile program is solely defensive and the country does not have any nuclear warheads, the country's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a joint press conference with Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Canberra.
Iran's recent missile tests do not violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231, he underlined, Fars news agency reported March 15.
Regarding his talks with Bishop in a meeting prior to the press conference, Zarif said the sides discussed mutual political cooperation, including the Syrian issue and regional extremism, exchange of economic delegations, how to return illegal Iranian refugees from Australia, as well as drugs and human trafficking in the Middle East.
Zarif, who is the first high-ranking Iranian official visiting Australia in 10 years, is scheduled to hold talks with the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Trade and Investment Steven Ciobo.
The Iranian minister will also deliver a speech at the Australian National University and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
The top Iranian diplomat will wrap up his visit to Australia on Wednesday.
Zarif's meeting comes as the Australian foreign minister paid an official visit to Tehran in April, 2015 for the first time in some 12 years. She invited her Iranian counterpart to visit Australia.