Tasnim – Iran: Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Hossein Salami reiterated Iran’s policy on its military capabilities, saying the Islamic Republic will never hold talks with foreign countries about its missile power.
“Our defense and missile might guarantees our security, independence, and diplomatic power and we would never negotiate the issue,” Brigadier General Salami said in a televised interview on Saturday night.
He further pointed to the country’s missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers and said that Iran has not extended the range of its missiles not due to technological constraints but based on its strategies. The commander warned, however, that if European countries seek to interfere in Iran’s defense affairs, the country would increase the range of its missiles.
Iran has always stressed that its military might and test of missiles is an issue relating to the defense of its territorial integrity and has nothing to do with the JCPOA, the nuclear deal reached between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) back in July 2015. Iran has also underscored frequently that its military might poses no threat to other countries and that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.
Last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said in a gathering of new Army officers that vigorous efforts to boost Iran’s power is a non-negotiable issue, warning that the enemies attempt to counter Iran’s national might because they see this as a nuisance.
The adversaries are opposed to the enhancement of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power in the region and beyond because such power constitutes the “strategic depth of the Islamic Establishment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
