NOURNEWS - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Wednesday that Iran considers Russia as one of its main partners in the military and defense field, noting that the two countries can boost partnership as the UN arms embargo imposed on Tehran is now lifted.
Khatibzadeh made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the Russian official news agency, Sputnik, on Wednesday.
He emphasized that Iran considers Russia as one of its main partners in the military and defense field, noting that the two countries can boost partnership as the UN arms embargo imposed on Tehran is now lifted.
"Over recent years, Russia has been one of Iran's main partners in the defense and military fields. Now, with the lifting of arms restrictions, the two countries can enhance the prospects for military cooperation," he said.
"Negotiations between Tehran and Moscow are ongoing within the framework of a joint commission for military cooperation. Partnership programs between the two countries’ authorities are developed through it, including those related to regional and international issues", the spokesman added.
Any arms purchase from "friendly countries" will depend on the basic needs of Iran, the spokesman said emphasizing that Tehran can obtain any kind of weapons and necessary equipment — "from any source" — without legal restrictions and only on the basis of its defense needs.
**Tehran believes US attempts to impose unilateral sanctions doomed to fail
Any US attempt to impose unilateral restrictions on Iran would breach the international law and be bound to fail, Khatibzadeh said while terming Washington as "sanctions-addicted".
"The sanctions-addicted United States is not far to once again compensate for some of its blatant failures in the [United Nations] Security Council and its inability to reimpose previous sanctions that ended following the nuclear agreement and the UNSC 2231 Resolution," he said.
"It is clear that any US attempt to introduce its unilateral steps [sanctions] violates international law and is doomed to fail", the spokesman added.
He continued on by saying that Iran does not favor any US presidential candidate and sees the upcoming vote as an internal matter for Washington.
"Tehran has repeatedly announced in regard to the outcome of the US presidential election that it does not prefer one candidate over another and considers this issue as an internal matter," he went on to say that.
He also expressed the belief that Riyadh was provoking regional tensions and giving its resources to the US presidential administration, but noted that Tehran would still welcome the neighbor "with open arms" if it changed its policy.
"Unfortunately, Riyadh has given its prestige and resources to the [US President Donald] Trump administration and has taken the wrong path provoking war, bloodshed and imposing a blockade on the regional countries, including Yemen and Qatar," Khatibzadeh said.
"In the case, if Riyadh takes the decision to ease tensions in the region and moves forward in this direction, Iran will welcome it with open arms," the spokesman added.
NOURNEWS