Chief of General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri made the remarks on the sidelines of an exhibition of defense achievements in Imam Khomeini Mosalla, while speaking to reporters on Sunday.
With reference to the exhibition, Bagheri said that the achievements in defense and military fields after the Islamic Revolution are by no means comparable with that of the pre-revolution era.
The senior Iranian commander added that the western countries are instigating regional countries to buy more arms through propaganda against Iran in the form of Iranophobia, adding that Iranian military advisors went to neighboring countries to fight terrorism at the request of their central governments.
“No country in the world asks for other countries' permission to defend itself, and governments are basically formed to defend the people, the country and their national interests. Like any other country, the Islamic Republic has a defensive structure and defensive capabilities to defend its soil, waters, people and its interests,” he said, stressing that “we will not await anyone’s permission with regard to this issue [ development of defense capabilities].”
“Our defense capabilities, including missile power, is by no means negotiable and cannot be discussed with anyone,” Bagheri said, warning the Europeans not to bring up the issue of Iran’s missile program as preconditions for implementation of their newly unveiled trade mechanism to help Iran avoid the US sanctions.
MNA/4538784