Iran regional role calls for strong military: Velayati
A senior Iranian official says the Islamic Republic must possess complete and state-of-the-art military equipment considering its influential role in maintaining regional peace.
“Given the Islamic Republic of Iran’s prominent role in preserving regional balance, peace and stability, it is necessary that our country possesses complete and up-to-date military equipment,” Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign affairs adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, told reporters on Tuesday.
Pointing to Russia’s imminent delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Iran, he added that the Islamic Republic will undertake any necessary legitimate measure for upgrading its military power for defending its territory.
On April 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree paving the way for the long-overdue delivery of the defense system to Iran after Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.
Russia had previously banned the delivery of the missile defense system to Tehran in 2010 under the pretext that the agreement it signed with Iran in 2007 was covered by the fourth round of the UN Security Council sanctions against the country over its nuclear program.
Chinese president’s planned visit to Iran
Velayati, who was speaking in a joint press conference with Deng Li, the Director General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry, also announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Iran.
“The necessary consultations have been conducted in this regard and in case the appropriate time arrives, the Chinese president will travel to Iran and hold talks about issues pertaining to the two countries’ relations,” the Iranian official said.
He said Tehran and Beijing have “strategic” ties and enjoy the capacity to increase their trade transactions to some $10.6 million annually.
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