Defiant Iran Says No One Will Stop It From Developing Ballistic Missiles

Iran reaffirmed at the weekend that it will scorn any international attempts to restrain its missile program, unveiling a new missile and announcing it will soon hold large-scale ballistic missile war-games.

President Hasan Rouhani said Iran would seek no one’s permission to buy or develop the weapons it needs.. Appearing on state television,he said that only when Iran is “powerful and capable” can it negotiate constructively with other countries.

War and aggression are imposed on weak countries and they can never sustain their security, he said.

Rouhani unveiled the Fateh 313, an Iranian-designed solid fuel surface-to-surface missile boasting a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles). The presidency said the missile has been successfully tested, and will now be mass-produced by the defense ministry.

Also speaking on state TV, Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan shrugged off any international pressure aimed at reining in the missile program.

“We will design and produce any missiles that we want proportionate to threats and we will conduct drills and tests in due time,” he said. “No element can weaken our resolve in the defensive field.”

Tehran’s focus on missiles comes as the Obama administration lobbies to win congressional support for the nuclear deal which the U.S. and five other powers reached with Iran last month – an agreement that set an eight-year expiration date on U.N. sanctions relating to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

More here