President Rouhani made the remarks in his address during a ceremony at the Mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in capital Tehran, marking Iran’s Army Day on April 18.
“Now more than any other time in history, our country and Armed Forces are influential on the course of regional and global developments,” President Rouhani said. “At the same time as our military forces, much like our diplomatic ones, have never sought tension and conflict in the region and the world, Quran has also taught us that peace and stability are not feasible in the absence of power.”
Rouhani noted that the only way to respond positively to other countries’ call for peace is the possession of legitimate power, adding “only those countries which rely on their domestic capabilities can ever feel the true sense of sovereignty and power.”
He went on to add, “loaned power can never bring dignity and glory for a country. The countries in our region should not be after loaned power from major powers or an illegitimate regime in the Middle East.”
Stressing that aggressive powers have built themselves shelters in surrounding areas in the region, Rouhani added that the “Army and the IRGC will develop or procure any weapon they need for defense, and we will pay no mind to the opinion of other countries for boosting our defense capabilities.”
“If there is any weapon we need, we will develop it for the most part, or procure it if necessary,” Rouhani said. “We will not wait for approval from the world.”
He went on to add, “at the same time, we announce to regional countries that our policy toward them is based on good neighborliness; we want to be a good neighbor to them and want them in turn to be a good neighbor to us.”
“We want friendly ties with neighboring countries and want them to know that our weapons, missiles and tanks will not be used against any of them,” Rouhani stressed.
“To major powers, I want to say to stop shelling our region,” Rouhani said. “I am calling on them to stop filling up our region with various weapons for the sake of their own interests and for robbing Arab countries of their resources.”
The Iranian president further maintained that the only path to establish peace in the region and across the world is through political talks and peaceful approaches.
MS/4274113