Iran ‘needs no permission to boost its defense might’

Rasa - Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says the Islamic Republic will seek permission from no country to bolster its defense power.

News ID: 432621

Date: 23 September 2017 - 22:29

RNA - Brig. Gen. Hatami made the remark on Saturday, which marked the beginning of the annual Sacred Defense Week in Iran.

“As long as the rhetoric of some [countries] is one of threat, Iran’s reinforcement of its defense power will continue,” the Iranian defense minister said, adding that, “Iran will not seek permission from any country to produce different missiles, and land, naval, and aerial defense weapons.”

During his speech at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had accused the Islamic Republic of “building dangerous missiles.”

Iran has said time and again that its defense might — including its missile capabilities — are for purely defensive purposes. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani publicly reiterated that point in his own speech at the UNGA on Wednesday.

“I wish to underscore here that the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including our missiles, are solely defensive deterrents for the maintenance of regional peace and stability and the prevention of adventurist tendencies of irrational aspirants,” President Rouhani said.

Brig. Gen. Hatami echoed those remarks in his Saturday comments by saying Iran’s “defense policy is deterrence.”

“Our defensive plans, tactics, and techniques correspond with the kinds of threats we face and the country’s geopolitical situation,” he said.

The Iranian defense minister referred to Trump’s “discourteous remarks” at the UNGA and said such threatening language would impact Iran’s will in no way.

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