First North Korea, now Iran? Islamic Republic DEFY Trump with massive military expansion
THE Iranian Defence Secretary has unveiled plans to bolster the Islamic Republic’s arsenal of weapons, as the country wades into the growing international tensions.
By OLI SMITH
Express.co.uk
Sun, Apr 16, 2017
Just as North Korea launched a failed missile test in defiance of the US, the Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani shut down warnings from the Trump administration.
President Rouhani, who declared that he will be running for re-election, said the regime doesn’t need “foreign permission” to develop weapons.
Iran’s Armed Forces will look to expand their arsenal of missiles and fighters, as President Rouhani unveiled his country’s latest military machinery.
Iran’s Defence Minister General Hossein Dehqan echoed these plans, claiming the latest weapons were “a prelude to the production of heavy aircraft”.
Among the latest weaponry on show, the Defence Minister boasted of Iran’s new tactical drone, an anti-ship cruise missile and an air-to-air missile.
The country’s military recently announced the nation has achieved unprecedented self-sufficiency in producing weaponry.
After years of global isolation, General Dehqan said the Islamic Republic had developed the “might and know-how” to develop advanced fighters, tanks, radars and air defence systems.
The Iranian leader, praised as a moderate by European governments, emphasized that the military arsenal was solely for “defensive” purposes.
But this runs counter to the belief among British and US intelligence that Iran is heavily involved in the Syrian Civil War.
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