Local Editor
Hours on the firing of several ballistic missiles, Iran elaborated that it won’t stop building up its deterrence power under any circumstances.
“Iran’s ballistic-missile program will never stop under any circumstances and Tehran has missiles ready to be fired,” said a senior commander of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps [IRGC] according to state TV Thursday.
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh stated that “Iran’s missile program will not stop under any circumstances… The IRGC has never accepted the U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iran’s missile work … we are always ready to defend the country against any aggressor. Iran will not turn into Yemen, Iraq or Syria.”
The IRGC test-fired several ballistic missiles Tuesday and Wednesday, state media reported.
Iranian officials said the missile tests were not in violation of the deal, which led to lifting of sanctions in January.
“Iran’s missile program and its test-firing of missiles in the past days during a military drill are not against its nuclear commitments and the nuclear deal reached with the six powers,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi-Ansari said Thursday, state TV reported.
The test-firing of several missiles since Tuesday were part of a major military exercise that the IRGC said were aimed at displaying the country’s “deterrent power and its ability to confront any threat”.
“The missiles were fired from northern Iran and hit targets in the southeast of the country,” Hajizadeh told state TV. “Some of the missiles carried 24 warheads and one tons of TNT.”
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke Wednesday with Iran’s foreign minister about the test-firing of two ballistic missiles, a State Department spokesman said.
The IRGC maintains dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles, the largest stock in the Middle East. It says they are solely for defensive use with conventional, non-nuclear warheads.
Source: Al-Ahed news
