In an interview with ISNA published on Tuesday, Velayati, who is also the director of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council, also said that Iran will never pose a threat to the security of any country.
The countries which are “casting greedy eyes on Iran” must be aware of the fact that the Islamic Republic will not remain silent in the face of any act of aggression and will not seek permission from other countries to defend itself, he added.
On February 11, Iran test-fired a laser-guided surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missile named Bina (Insightful) and the new generation of a long-range ballistic missile.
U.S. officials have said that Iran’s ballistic missile program should be addressed as part of a comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers, which is meant to end the decade-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
However, Iran has announced that it has no intention of discussing its ballistic missile program with the major powers.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s defense issues are neither negotiable nor subject to compromise. They are definitely among our red lines in any talks,” Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister and a chief negotiator, told Iranian state television recently.
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