TEHRAN -- Head of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Saturday the force plans to boost cooperation with the Defense Ministry to enhance Iran’s missile power.
Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh made the remarks in a meeting with newly-appointed Defense Minister Brigadier General Muhammad Reza Ashtiani, Press TV reported.
Hajizadeh stressed the need for further cooperation. He said the Defense Ministry can play an effective and decisive role in enhancing the defense power of the IRGC’s aerospace force.
“God willing, cooperation on upgrading the IRGC missile power will be expanded under the new Defense Ministry.”
General Ashtiani, for his part, expressed his ministry’s readiness to interact and cooperate closely with the IRGC’s aerospace force.
“With the extensive industrial and production capacities and platforms in the Ministry, we will be able to take big steps toward providing and meeting the defense and military needs of the Armed Forces, especially the IRGC’s aerospace force,” he said.
Last week, Iran’s Air Defense Force successfully tested a new generation of the domestically-manufactured Mersad-16 missile system in the country’s central desert.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great progress in indigenously developing a broad range of equipment, making the Armed Forces self-sufficient in this regard.
Officials have repeatedly stressed that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to build up its defense capabilities that are entirely meant for the purpose of defense and will never be subject to negotiation.
On Friday, IRGC chief Major General Hussein Salami also met General Ashtiani and discussed regional issues with the newly-appointed defense minister.
Salami pointed to the enemies’ attempts to exert pressure on the Iranian nation through persistence on their enmity, stressing that the effort should be dealt prudently.
“The enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation have not spared any threat and machination to pressure the Islamic establishment and the Iranian nation, and despite their failures over the past four decades, they insist on continuing their enmity and malice,” Salami said.
“Each day, they unveil their deep animosity with special complexities and intricacies that need to be dealt with maximum wisdom and insight,” he added.
Salami also underlined the need for using modern and strategic systems and equipment to deepen and develop Iran’s defense capabilities and meet the needs of the Armed Forces, especially those of the IRGC.
Navy chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said Iran stands at the forefront of the campaign to establish and promote international peace and friendship.
Speaking to reporters in the Caspian port of Anzali where the sixth edition of the international “Sea Cup” ended Saturday, Irani said the Iranian Navy attaches special importance to constant communication and dialogue among countries.
Iran, he said, does not look for a rank in the competitions and only intends to test the capability of its armed forces at an international level.
“The most important goal of our Navy in the Sea Cup is to promote defense-maritime diplomacy,” he said.

Iran seeks to “increase and strengthen friendship among countries”, he said. “We are trying to maintain and promote such friendship as a model among the Caspian littoral states.”
The sixth round of the “Sea Cup” began on August 25, with about 400 servicemen from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Iran participating in the competitions.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the event was aimed at increasing the skills of naval forces and consisted of six stages, including surface shooting, aerial shooting, minefield shooting and buoyant control in the sea, and two stages of survival at sea and control of injuries on the seaside.