“Thanks to the culture of Sacred Defense and the great Iranian nation’s fortitude, the enemies’ policy of maximum pressure is turning into the policy of maximum solicitation, as they are imploring the Iranian officials to hold a meeting,” General Hatami said in a meeting of Defense Ministry personnel on Sunday.

He added that the US feels no compunction about intensifying pressures on Iran, in a way that Washington would impose sanctions even on the “water and oxygen” consumed by Iranians if it had the ability to do so.

Highlighting Iran’s growing defense capabilities, the minister said Tehran has gained such power that has discouraged the US from taking any action after the Iranian air defense forces shot down an American spy drone over the Persian Gulf in June.

In remarks in late August, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said Iran’s “deterrence power” has reached such a high level that the US refrained from taking any action after Iran shot down an American RQ-4 Global Hawk drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

On June 20, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a US spy drone that had violated the Iranian territorial airspace near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The intruding drone was shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has reiterated on various occasions that the Iranian Armed Forces should boost their military capabilities and preparedness in such a way that the enemies would not ever dare think of threaten the country.

In comments in November 2018, the Leader said that Iran’s enhanced military preparedness would frighten the foes and be deterrent against the enemies, underlining, “The Islamic Republic is not intending to begin a war against anyone, but you (the Iranian military forces) should boost your capabilities in such a way that not only the enemy would be fearful and afraid of attacking Iran, but also thanks to the solidarity, might, and effective presence of the Armed Forces, the specter of threats against the Iranian nation would be swept away.”

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The remarks by the defense minister comes as the United States has created a commotion over a test of mid-range ballistic missile by Iran, claiming that the test contravenes the resolution 2231 which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even attended a UN Security Council session on December 12 to create a consensus against Iran. However, he failed.

“Today, the enemies are disappointed with threatening [Iran] and exert pressure against us about missiles out of frustration. We know well that we cannot ignore boosting defense capability even for a second,” he said during a conference at the Defense Ministry.

Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran’s missiles are for defensive purposes and reiterated that the country’s missile program is “not negotiable”.

“Iran’s missiles are defensive. We need them for deterrence. We use far less for military than anybody else in the region and that is why we have said from the beginning that our missiles are not negotiable.”

‘Relying on the Leaders’ guidelines’

Defense Minister Hatami went on say that Iran would strengthen its defense capabilities and deterrence power by capitalizing on the guidelines set by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Hatami added that the Leader’s guidelines have foiled the U.S. plots to destabilize the Middle East region.

Referring to inauguration on the Kowsar fighter jet, Hatami noted that the Defense Ministry follows the Leader’s guidelines and does not depend on foreigners for military equipment.

On November 3, the Defense Ministry inaugurated production line of the homegrown supersonic Kowsar fighter jet.

Kowsar is an advanced fighter jet with a close air support (CAS) role that has made Iran one of the few countries with the know-how of designing and manufacturing such jets equipped with the 4th generation avionic and fire-control systems.

Hatami said in the inauguration ceremony that production of the fighter jet is a symbol of resisting the hegemonic system and its excessive demands.

He noted that production of the fighter jet was a big step in line with reducing effects of sanctions and boosting defense capabilities.

The defense chief added that the country will manufacture more advanced generations of the warplane in the future.

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