Stockpiling Weapons Not to Bring Security: Iran’s Shamkhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani rejected the notion that countries can ensure their security by amassing weapons, citing the fate of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime as an example of how baseless the notion is.
The security model considered acceptable by the Islamic Republic of Iran is one based on increased popular participation in determination of political structures, Shamkhani told reporters on Tuesday upon arriving in Moscow to attend an international security conference.
“Stockpiling weapons has never created security and what happened to Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq is proof to this assertion,” he added.
Shamkhani also regretted that certain countries with a background of supporting terrorism are turning the region into a warehouse of Western weapons with their petrodollars and sowing the seeds of insecurity and violence at a time when the world is more than ever in need of distancing from ideologies and measures founded on violence and extremism.
The comments seem to have been made in reference to a weapons deal signed Saturday by Saudi King Salman and US President Donald Trump during the latter’s trip to the kingdom.
Under the deal, Riyadh will receive $110 billion in arms effective immediately, plus at least another $350 billion over the next 10 years.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Shamkhani underlined the need for continued international consultations and cooperation to counter security crises in the world.