Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the remarks in nationwide military parades marking National Army Day and currently underway on the vicinity of the shrine of the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, adding “the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, as ordered by Imam Khoemini and following the strategy laid by commander-in-chief of the armed forces Ayat. Khameni, belongs to the nation as a whole and not to a specific group or political party.”
“The Iranian Army is the army of Islam, Islamic system and the whole Iranian nation,” said Rouhani. “This army defends our establishment, homeland, laws, prestige, and national interests.”
President Rouhani highlighted Imam Khomeini’s stress on the Army’s nonpartisan attitude, adding “party affiliation in the army means its obliteration.”
“If we can now proudly speak of our country’s security in such an insecure and unstable region, it is all due to having a mighty army, powerful Revolutionary Guards, and courageous Basiji people,” he said.
President Rouhani underscored the coexistence and equal significance of hard power and soft power in the country, adding “if our armed forces are there to repel aggressive hands that have stretched toward our national interests, our diplomacy is in the battlefield of negotiations to protect the nation’s rights.”
Rouhani hailed the efforts of the country’s diplomats during the extensive nuclear negotiations which led to the elimination of unjust resolutions and safeguarding of Iran’s rights to possess defense power, adding “their efforts were so successful that even our enemies admit Iran’s military power and missile program have nothing to do with the nuclear deal and the resolution 2231. They too acknowledge the fact that Iran’s military might must be preserved and strengthened.”
President Rouhani went on to add, “those who say we do not need hard power are naïve, and those who say we do not need soft power are short-sighted.”
“I hereby explicitly state, as I did a few days ago in the presence of Islamic countries in the OIC Summit in Istanbul, that the Islamic Republic’s military, economic and political power will never be used against neighbors and other countries in the Islamic world.”
Rouhani added, “I also mentioned to them in the summit that if their capitals were to come under attack by either terrorists or the Zionists, the power that would respond to their appeal for help would be the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Iranian President stressed that the army, today more powerful than ever, will continue defending the country and its interests, adding “I hereby address the conspirators and plotters against our country that our armed strength is fully active for carrying out deterrence and defense operations.”
MS