‘Iran Not to Compromise on Defense Capabilities’

Date: 22 January 2019 - 21:11

News ID: ۶۲۳۷۳

TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani has stressed that the U.S. pressures are not able to force Tehran into talks and compromise on its defense and missile capabilities.
"We have said about the missile issue that we will not compromise at all about our country's defense issues and will not allow others to interfere in it," Shamkhani said.
He, meantime, reminded that Iran's missile capability is "defensive and deterrent".
Shamkhani referred to the U.S. President Donald Trump's economic pressures against Iran with the aim of forcing the country to accept Washington's irrational and hegemonic demands, and said, "We will not compromise our honor under Trump's bullying. This is the clear message of the Iranian government to the White House; sanctions will no way serve as an instrument to enforce renegotiations on issues already agreed upon."
The official also said given the U.S. move to violate its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), any negotiation with such a government would be futile.

"The United States failed in the JCPOA test, so Iran cannot trust them in any other area,” Shamkhani said.
"Negotiating with the U.S. is useless,” he said, adding, "We are no longer allowed to devote the Iranian nation’s time to fruitless processes.”
He further pointed to Washington’s hostilities toward the Islamic Republic and said, "Our nation, which has vigilantly neutralized all of the White House's acts of sabotage over the past forty years, will foil the U.S. conspiracy through relying on domestic capacities this time too.”
The remarks come as tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated since U.S. President Donald Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
He said the U.S. policy is to levy "maximum economic pressure” on the country.
The second batch of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.