A commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the Islamic Republic’s missile capabilities are aimed at increasing the country’s deterrent power.
“We are confident that Iran’s missile power has a deterrent effect and if enemies of the [Islamic] Revolution carry out an act of stupidity, the Iranian nation will slap in their face,” the IRGC spokesman, Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, said on Saturday.
He added that Iran would continue to boost its missile power with wisdom.
He emphasized that the country’s missile program has nothing to do with the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.
The IRGC commander said Iran’s power had prompted the enemy to hold nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
The United States claims that Iran’s recent missile test violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA.
Resolution 2231 calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to missiles “designed to be capable of” delivering nuclear weapons.
Iran says it is not involved in any such missile work and has no such warheads.
Sharif further said the enemy is currently in its “weakest” position and is unable to solve many conflicts in the region, including the existing woes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Syria.
The IRGC has been successfully advising Iraqi and Syrian militaries in their operations against the Daesh terrorist group and other such outfits.
However, the administration of US President Donald Trump has been reportedly considering designating the IRGC as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” The proposal was later stalled following warnings from US defense and intelligence officials against its adverse consequences.
The US has already imposed sanctions on some Iranian individuals and entities that it claims to be linked to the IRGC.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday praised the IRGC for providing the highest support to regional countries in their anti-terror fights.
“The entire world admits that the IRGC has rendered the utmost support to [Iran’s] neighboring countries in the face of terrorism,” Zarif said.
He pointed to the US efforts to impose sanctions on the IRGC and said such attempts have never benefited Washington.
