Nobody Allowed to Negotiate with Foreigners about Iran’s Missile Power: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said no one has the right to hold talks with foreigners about the Islamic Republic’s missile power.
The country’s defense power will increase without any pause and foreigners should not interfere in the issue, Brigadier General Jazayeri said on Monday.
“In today’s situation, in which hegemonic regimes are continuously threatening, (trying to intimidate) the Islamic Republic of Iran, or committing war crimes in the region, the (Iranian) Armed Forces’ duty is to enhance the defense capabilities in all fields, including missile systems,” he underlined.
The commander further emphasized that nobody has the right to engage in talks with foreigners about the country’s missile power.
On Saturday, Brigadier General Jazayeri had said that the Islamic Republic’s prerequisite for talks on its missile program is for the US and certain European states to destroy their long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.
The remarks came as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is on an official visit to Tehran, threatened ahead of the visit that Iran needed to address international concerns over its ballistic missile program or it risked new sanctions.
Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the country’s missile program is purely defensive, stressing that it is not up to France or any other country to make decisions about Iran’s defense issues.
In December, Tehran advised Paris to be careful in its views about the Islamic Republic after French President Emmanuel Macron called for talks on Iran’s ballistic missiles.