Iran rules out negotiations over missile program

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran (SNSC) said Iran will not agree to negotiate any limitations on its missile development and it does not seek permission from anyone to defend its missile program.

News ID: 70385

Date: 27 May 2018 - 12:18

TEHRAN (Defaprss) – “The United States is not trustworthy to negotiate with at all. The missile power of Iran is completely indigenous and defensive. We do not await anyone’s permit to develop our conventional defense capabilities and are not willing to negotiate over this matter,” Ali Shamkhani said in an interview Al-Jazeera Arabic this week.

“It does not make any sense to negotiate with a country that does not respect its obligations. The US withdrawal meant that it tore the international agreement,” Shamkhani added.

“During the 40 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution we did not initiate any aggression on any country and we are not looking for a territorial expansion,” the Iranian top security official noted.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami declared that Iran's enemies, led by the United States, were working to limit Iran's defense capabilities.

Hatami added that Iran is one of the world's leading countries in the defense field and that its military capabilities are not up for negotiation. Esmaili played down the importance of the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear deal, stressing that Washington was not part of the deal since the very beginning.

Furthermore, Iran's air defense chief, Farzad Esmaili said on Saturday that Iran had 3,700 air defense spots across the country, preventing any hostile aircraft from entring Iranian airspace.