Zarif Says Iran Probing Possible U.S. Plot to Sabotage Rockets

(Bloomberg) -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran is investigating reports of a U.S. program to sabotage its missiles and rockets.

The New York Times reported Feb. 13 that President Donald Trump’s administration has accelerated a secret initiative to slip faulty parts and materials into the supply chain of the Iranian aerospace industry. The newspaper said that two Iranian attempts to launch satellites have failed in the past month, part of a pattern going back more than a decade.

The U.S. accuses Iran of developing missiles that could be used to carry nuclear warheads, in breach of its international obligations, while Zarif, speaking Sunday at a security conference in Munich, insisted the technology is a legitimate piece of the country’s defense strategy and isn’t intended for other uses.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser

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