of eight helicopters, manufactured and overhauled by Iran’s
Defense Ministry, to the country’s civilian and military bodies.
He
added that the move has been carried out in line with the ministry’s
plans to effectively support Iran’s Armed Forces and make use of the
country’s defense sector to supply the requirements of the non-military
sector.
He also indicated the high capabilities of Iranian
defense experts and their determination to meet the country’s needs by
relying on domestic capacities.
"This process is underway
constantly and with seriousness in all defense industries affiliated to
Defense Ministry in sea, ground, air, air-defense, aerospace, missile,
electronic and hi-tech industries sectors and with the purpose of
improving the defensive capability and deterrent power of the Islamic
Republic of Iran,” Dehqan said.
He emphasized that the enemies’
psychological warfare and propaganda campaign have never affected and
will never influence Iran’s defense capabilities.
Some Western
officials have in recent days made efforts to link Iran’s missile
program to the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries
on July 14, 2015.
In his first biannual report to the 15-member
Security Council earlier this month, United Nations Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon claimed that Iran's ballistic missile launches "are not
consistent with the constructive spirit” of the JCPOA.
He called
upon Iran to "refrain from conducting such ballistic missile launches
since they have the potential to increase tensions in the region."
Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday reacted to Ban’s
claims against Tehran and said, "The report has been compiled based on
incomplete information and his (the UN chief’s) incognizance of the
[nuclear] negotiations.”
On March 9, Iran successfully test-fired
two ballistic missiles as part of military drill to assess its defense
capabilities. The missiles dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F were fired during a
large-scale drill, code-named Eqtedar-e-Velayat.
A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in northern Iran on March 9, 2016. © AFP
A
day earlier, the country’s Armed Forces had fired another ballistic
missile called Qiam from silo-based launchers in different locations
across the country.
The US claims that Iran’s missile tests violate the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Resolution
2231, adopted on July 20, 2015, provides for the termination of the
provisions of previous Security Council resolutions on the Iranian
nuclear program and establishes specific restrictions that apply to all
states without exception.
The resolution calls upon Iran not to
undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be
capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such
ballistic missile technology.