Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran would never give up on its missile programme as it needs such deterrence for its security in a region where Iran's arch-foe Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day".
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2024. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Majid Asgaripour via Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran would never give up on its missile programme as it needs such deterrence for its security in a region where Iran's arch-foe Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day".
The Islamic Republic has for years defied Western calls to limit its missile programme.
The United States and its allies have more recently accused Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.
Both countries have denied the claims.
"If we don’t have missiles, they will bomb us whenever they want, just like in Gaza," Pezeshkian said, referring to the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
He reiterated Tehran's official stance, calling on the international community "to first disarm Israel before making the same demands to Iran".
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom
The US Treasury has asked Iraq to close all border crossings with Iran except for two as part of Washington's policy of increasing economic pressure on Tehran, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progress, CNN reported.
An American military aircraft fired on and disabled a commercial vessel that tried to break the US blockade of Iran on Saturday, US Central Command said.
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