Iran Views Neighbors as Allies

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar emphasized that Iran considers its entire neighbors as its allies.

Najjar who was speaking at Orumiyeh Friday Prayer rituals added, “We not only give priority to establishment and expansion of relations with our Muslim neighbors in political field, but also favor having constructive and effective defense cooperation to boost regional security side by side with our neighbors.”

Pointing out that Iran has always backed Iraq’s territorial integrity and will always do so, the minister added, “We have also always supported the elected Iraqi government, and even accepted to talk with the US officials in order to boost security in that country.”

Najjar described as good and constructive the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey and expressed deep concern over the recent course of event in the Caucasus region, saying, “We are sorry for the loss of innocent people’s lives in those events.”

“Alien forces interference in regional affairs is not the harbinger of peace, and pushes the region towards unilateralism and the threat of the outbreak of another new war in the region,” he stressed, the Islamic republic news agency reported.

He considered Iran’s scientific and technological advancement as the real source of US statesmen’s worries, saying, “The Iranian nation is neither worried about their threatening, nor about their sanctions, and is ready, as it has always been, to defend its absolute and legitimate rights.”

He said that people’s support for increased competence, defensive capability, and containment power of our country’s armed forces has resulted from the strategic policies of the servant government.

The Defense Minister added, “Today the military and defense capabilities of the Defense Ministry are manufactured parallel with the possible threats of our enemies, and Iran’s response to any aggression would be appropriate to the extent of threats and the conditions of the day.”

He said, “As a result of such advancement, the level of our people’s trust in our country’s armed forces has exceeded 90% and our people consider their armed forces’ personnel to be highly prestigious and praiseworthy.”