Defense Minister:
Iran to Give Direct Response to Any Zionist Threat
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says Iran will give a "clear and direct” response to any possible Israeli threat against its interests in the Persian Gulf.
In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera, Hatami reflected on a recent measure by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to fully normalize relations with the occupying regime of Israel, saying it will pose a direct threat to security of the entire Persian Gulf region.
"Any threat posed by the Zionist regime in the Persian Gulf will be confronted by a direct and clear response,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the controversial normalization agreements with the Zionist regime at the White House on September 15, amid outrage across Palestine and the Muslim world at the Arab regimes’ betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Muhammad Hossein Baqeri warned the regional Arab states last month that they should account for any security problem created by the Zionists in the region.
"If the Zionists are stationed in the region and something happens which inflicts even a minimum damage on our national security and defense, we will view these countries as providers of bases to the enemy and will treat them as enemies,” he said.
Hatami also said Iran’s defense minister said the Islamic Republic will never engage in negotiations over its missile program with the U.S. "Nobody has the right to ask us to do so,” he said.
Elsewhere in his interview, the Iranian defense chief pointed to the latest armed conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. He said the Islamic Republic has given stern and clear warnings to the warring sides about threats to its security in the border areas.
He also rejected claims about Russia’s transfer of weapons to Armenia through Iran’s soil. "We have never allowed Russia to use our borders and territories to transfer Russian weapons to Armenia and this is an accusation leveled against Iran.”
Hatami said, "We expect Turkey, as a friendly and important regional country, to help settle the crisis in the disputed Karabakh region through diplomatic means.”
In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera, Hatami reflected on a recent measure by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to fully normalize relations with the occupying regime of Israel, saying it will pose a direct threat to security of the entire Persian Gulf region.
"Any threat posed by the Zionist regime in the Persian Gulf will be confronted by a direct and clear response,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the controversial normalization agreements with the Zionist regime at the White House on September 15, amid outrage across Palestine and the Muslim world at the Arab regimes’ betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Muhammad Hossein Baqeri warned the regional Arab states last month that they should account for any security problem created by the Zionists in the region.
"If the Zionists are stationed in the region and something happens which inflicts even a minimum damage on our national security and defense, we will view these countries as providers of bases to the enemy and will treat them as enemies,” he said.
Hatami also said Iran’s defense minister said the Islamic Republic will never engage in negotiations over its missile program with the U.S. "Nobody has the right to ask us to do so,” he said.
Elsewhere in his interview, the Iranian defense chief pointed to the latest armed conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. He said the Islamic Republic has given stern and clear warnings to the warring sides about threats to its security in the border areas.
He also rejected claims about Russia’s transfer of weapons to Armenia through Iran’s soil. "We have never allowed Russia to use our borders and territories to transfer Russian weapons to Armenia and this is an accusation leveled against Iran.”
Hatami said, "We expect Turkey, as a friendly and important regional country, to help settle the crisis in the disputed Karabakh region through diplomatic means.”