Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Brigadier General Gheibparvar pointed to
recent calls by some Western states for holding talks on Iran’s missile
capabilities and reaching a new agreement after Washington pulled out of the
2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and
said, "Our country’s missile power is among the red lines.”
He further emphasized that the missile program is not negotiable, adding that
the missiles are the outcome of the Iranian youths’ endeavors and will be used
as a defensive tool if need be.
The Iranian commander went on to say that the problem of the Western parties
to the JCPOA with Iran is not over its nuclear or missile issues but they are
pressuring the country to abandon Islam and the Islamic Revolution.
He made the remarks in reaction to recent remarks made by US President Donald
Trump about a new deal with the Islamic Republic.
Addressing a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on
Thursday, Trump said the US is "putting sanctions on Iran, the likes of which
nobody has ever seen before."
However, he expressed hope that "at some point, they’ll come to us and we’ll sit
down, and we’ll make a deal that’s good for them, and good for us, and good for
everybody. And it will be great for Iran. I expect it to be — I want it to be
great for Iran… We had a great opportunity to make a phenomenal deal."
Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear
agreement.
Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the
highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange
for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
Source: Tasnim