TEHRAN -- Iran has become an “emerging power” in the world and is standing firm against enemy aggression, a senior Iranian defense official said on Friday, as he defended the country’s military buildup and rejected calls for submission to U.S. demands.

“Today, Islamic Iran has become an emerging power in the world and is resisting and standing firm against the aggression and brutality of enemies,” Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ziaeddin Aghajanpour, head of the Ideological-Political Organization of the Ministry of Defense, said in a pre-Friday prayer speech in Qom/

Aghajanpour said martyred Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei had consistently urged military officials to enhance defense capabilities. 

“His recommendation to the officials of the armed forces has been: produce as much defense authority as you can and increase your military and defensive readiness,” Aghajanpour said.

The official pushed back against past views that the country did not need advanced weapons. “Some thought the era of missiles was over and that today is the era of dialogue among civilizations,” he said. “Some even said that the claim Iran has enemies is an illusion.”

“But the Martyred Leader, with his penetrating insight, knew that the enemies of the Iranian nation would not leave the country alone and might attack it,” Aghajanpour said.

He referenced the recent 12-day war with the United States and Israel, saying enemies “targeted the innocent women, men and children of the Iranian nation with their bombs and missiles.”

“Students were targeted, and innocent children of the Iranian nation were martyred,” he said, referring to an attack on a school in Minab. He also cited a strike on a residential complex in Tehran’s Shahid Chamran town where “men, women and innocent children were targeted.”

Aghajanpour demanded, “What was the sin of these people and for what crime were they killed?”

The official said Iran will not surrender to U.S. demands. “Enemies say the Iranian nation must submit to America’s 

illegitimate demands and accept humiliation, but the Iranian nation, which is the nation of Imam Hussein, does not accept such a demand,” he said.
“The response of the Iranian nation to the foolish and ignorant American president and the masters of the system of domination who want the Iranian nation to surrender is ‘hahiat mina al-dhilla’ (Far be it from us to accept humiliation),” he added, citing a famous Shia slogan.
“To avoid submitting to their illegitimate demands, we must become strong,” Aghajanpour said. “Today, Islamic Iran is at the peak of authority and has become an emerging power in the world.”