Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated on Monday that Tehran will never abandon its missile program, emphasizing its importance for national security. He described the program as a crucial deterrent in a region where Israel, Iran’s chief adversary, “can launch rockets at Gaza on a daily basis.”
“If we didn’t have missiles, they would bomb us whenever they wanted, just like in Gaza,” Pezeshkian said, referring to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
For years, Iran has rejected Western calls to curb its missile program. Recently, the U.S. and its allies accused Tehran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. Both Iran and Russia deny these allegations.
The Iranian president also urged the international community to “disarm Israel first” before addressing Iran’s missile capabilities.
In light of these developments, the U.S., Germany, France, and the U.K. have announced new sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on the airline Iran Air, due to alleged missile transfers to Russia. Iran denies these claims, calling them “baseless propaganda.”
The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on six Iranian companies involved in drone and missile production, along with ten of their executives.
