Mon Dec 15, 2014 3:34
Leader's Top Aide: No Talks on Iran's Missile Program
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930924000956

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Supreme Leader's senior adviser Ali Akbar Velayati
underlined that Tehran would never accept to talk about its missile program
in the negotiations with the world powers.

"The issue of Iran's missiles is outside the framework of any form of
negotiations," Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Monday.

"The most important feature of missiles is their deterrent power which can
help Iran strengthen and adjust its defense system, and it needs no one's
permission to this end," he added.

Velayati stressed that Iran will do whatever necessary to attain its
defensive goals.

In relevant remarks in August, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed
that Iran's military program was based on a defensive doctrine, but meantime
said Tehran would never ask for anyone's permission for defending itself and
expanding its defense industries, implying that the nation would not discuss
its missile program in talks with the world powers.

"Our military doctrine is based on defense and we don’t design any weapon
for aggression; we don’t carry out any research on how to occupy the
regional states. All our researches are based on this defense principle that
how we can defend ourselves or how we can stop the enemy," Rouhani said,
addressing a ceremony to unveil two new home-made cruise missiles and two
new drones in Tehran participated by Defense Minister Brigadier General
Hossein Dehqan and other senior officials.

He said Iran's defense programs were based on a deterrence strategy to
prevent the breaking out of war in the region, reiterating that "our
military capability is at the service of regional security".

He underscored Iran's strategy of preventing war in the region, and said
Tehran is not after an arms race and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)
"but it doesn’t ask for anyone's permission to defend itself and to develop
our defense industries to whatever degree" that we deem necessary.

The President once again reiterated the necessity of a nuclear weapons-free
Middle-East, saying that all WMDs in the Middle-East should be dismantled.

Rouhani also stressed Iran's special geopolitical conditions, and asked,
"Given Iran's position in the region and the world, is it possible to speak
about stability in the region and avoid mentioning Iran? Is it possible to
speak of regional welfare and development without naming Iran?"