NOURNEWS - Iran’s defense minister says the Islamic Republic will give a "clear and direct" response to any possible Israeli threat against its interests in the Persian Gulf.
In an interview with Aljazeera network, published on Monday, Brigadier General Amir Hatami reflected on a recent measure by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to fully normalize relations with Israel through deals mediated by the administration of US President Donald Trump, noting that such a measure will pose a direct threat to security of the entire Persian Gulf region.
He added, “Any threat posed by the Zionist regime in the Persian Gulf [against Iran’s interests] will be faced with a direct and clear response.”
Answering a question about the US insisting on inclusion of Iran’s missile capability in any possible future talks, Iran’s defense minister said the Islamic Republic will never engage in negotiations over its missile program with the US, emphasizing, “Nobody has the right to ask us to do this.”
Elsewhere in his interview, the Iranian defense chief pointed to the latest armed conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and said the Islamic Republic has given stern and clear warnings to the warring sides about the need to protect security in the border areas.
He rejected claims about Russia's transfer of weapons to Armenia through Iran's soil, saying, "We have never allowed Russia to use our borders and territories to transfer Russian weapons to Armenia and this is an accusation leveled against Iran."
Hatami said, "We expect Turkey, as a friendly and important regional country, to help settle the crisis in the disputed Karabakh region through diplomatic means."
Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is held by ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Armenia since 1992, when they broke from Azerbaijan in a war that killed some 30,000 people. Iranian defense minister once again warned the warring parties involved in the military clashes that Tehran will take stronger measures than warnings if the shells fired in the fighting continue to hit the country’s border regions even by mistake.
“It is not acceptable at all that a bullet hits the Islamic Republic’s borders due to a mistake or carelessness,” Hatami said at the time.
NOURNEWS