A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry defended North Korea's defiant rocket launch on Monday, saying that all nations are entitled to the peaceful use of space technology.

North Korea claims it launched an experimental communications satellite into orbit Sunday, but the country's critics say it was an illicit test of the regime's long-range missile technology.

On Sunday, Iran state television said that pressure on North Korea to give up the right to use space technology peacefully was unfair.

Iran itself has a contentious relationship with the international community over its missile and nuclear programs and is believed to have cooperated extensively with North Korea on missile technology. Iran denies the accusations. RELATEDEditorial: Learning from PyongyangAnalysis: Why is North Korea different from Iran?UNSC fails to condemn North Korea

US and South Korean officials claim the entire rocket, including whatever payload it carried, ended up in the ocean after Sunday's launch, but many world leaders fear the launch indicates the capacity to fire a long-range missile. Pyongyang claims it launched a communications satellite into orbit that is now transmitting data and patriotic songs.

On Sunday night, United Nations Security Council members met for three hours, seeking a unified response to the launch, but the meeting ended with a deadlock, breaking up for the night without issuing even a customary preliminary statement of condemnation.