“The Islamic Republic of Iran is busy preserving its deterrent power within the framework of its defense interests, no matter what others say about it,” Ali Shamkhani told reporters in Tehran on Saturday.
His comments came in reaction to the recent US rhetoric of fresh anti-Iran sanctions over a ballistic long-range missile that Tehran tested in October 2015.
Asked if the US plans to impose new sanctions on Iran are tantamount to the breach of a July nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), Shamkhani said, “We will make the proportional decision about any move that is a breach of the JCPOA and reaches the implementation stage.”
On December 31, 2015, a few days after the US Treasury Department unveiled plans for imposing fresh sanctions on Iran due to testing of Emad missile, President Hassan Rouhani ordered the Defense Ministry to continue production of missiles needed by the country’s Armed Forces “more quickly and seriously”.
