Iran Will Never Give Up on its Missile Program, Says President

An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
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Iran Will Never Give Up on its Missile Program, Says President

An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)
An Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (Reuters)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran would never give up on its missile program as it needs such deterrence for its security in a region where Iran's arch-foe Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day".

Iran has for years defied Western calls to limit its missile program.

The United States and its allies have more recently accused Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.

Both countries have denied the claims.

"If we don’t have missiles, they will bomb us whenever they want, just like in Gaza," Pezeshkian said, referring to the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

He reiterated Tehran's official stance, calling on the international community "to first disarm Israel before making the same demands to Iran".

The president also said his country could hold direct talks with the United States if Washington demonstrates "in practice" that it is not hostile to the Islamic Republic.
This came in response to a question during the news conference in Tehran on whether Tehran would be open to direct talks with the US to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.
Former US president Donald Trump reneged on that deal in 2018, arguing it was too generous to Tehran, and restored harsh US sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to gradually violate the agreement's nuclear limits.
"We are not hostile towards the US, they should end their hostility towards us by showing their goodwill in practice," said Pezeshkian, adding: "We are brothers with the Americans as well."
After taking office in January 2021, US President Joe Biden tried to negotiate a revival of the nuclear pact under which Iran had restricted its nuclear program in return for relief from US, European Union and UN sanctions.
However, Tehran refused to directly negotiate with Washington and worked mainly through European or Arab intermediaries.

On Russia, the Iranian president affirmed that his government had not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August, after Western powers accused Tehran of delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September.
The United States and its allies accused Iran last week of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.
Russia and Iran both denied the Western claims.
Asked whether Iran had transferred missiles to Russia, Pezeshkian said: "It is possible that a delivery took place in the past... but I can assure you that since I took office, there has not been any such delivery to Russia."
Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two US-sanctioned countries.



Russia’s Medvedev Warns the US: Avoid World War Three

 Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia’s Medvedev Warns the US: Avoid World War Three

 Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)

Dmitry Medvedev, a senior Russian security official who served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012, warned the United States on Saturday to take Russia's nuclear warnings seriously to avoid World War Three.

Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's powerful security council, told RT broadcaster that top US officials did not want World War Three but for some reason they believe "that the Russians will never cross a certain line."

"They are wrong," Medvedev told RT, adding that Moscow believed the current US and European political establishments lacked the "foresight and subtlety of mind" displayed by the late Henry Kissinger.

"If we are talking about the existence of our state, as the president of our country has repeatedly said, your humble servant has said, others have said, of course, we simply will not have any choice," Medvedev said.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what Russian officials say is its most dangerous phase as Russian forces are advancing in eastern Ukraine and the West considers how to shore up Ukraine.

Russia has been signaling for weeks to the West that Moscow will respond if the United States and its allies help Ukraine fire longer-range missiles deep into Russia, while NATO says that North Korea has sent troops to western Russia.

Russian officials say the leaders of the West have failed to heed the signals Moscow has sent over European security and the escalation of the war in Ukraine.

US diplomats say the relationship with Russia is worse than at any time since the depths of the Cold War but that Washington does not seek to escalate the war in Ukraine.