President Hassan Rouhani said Iran's military has emerged as the world's strongest force against terror.
"Today we can tell the world that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic are the biggest force against terrorism," Rouhani said in a speech at the ceremony held to mark Sacred Defense Week in Tehran on Tuesday .
In Iran, the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War is known as the Sacred Defense and Sacred Defense Week is held on the anniversary of the beginning of the war. Sacred Defense Week begins on Shahrivar 31 in the Iranian calendar (September 22), which is the day Iraq invaded Iran and began the imposed war.
"Today the biggest power against the threat of terrorism is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic," the president reiterated.
He reaffirmed Iran’s policy to, if called upon, lend assistance to its neighbors in the campaign against terrorism. Just as Iran responded to the request by the Iraqi and Syrian governments to help them fight terrorists, any other regional country under threat from terrorism can count on Iran’s backing, Rouhani pledged.
“It would be wrong for them to expect support from major powers and the West.” He stressed that Iran is not in favor of aggression and will “confront any aggression.”
“Iran is not seeking to invade any country, but it strongly defends its territory,” Rouhani was quoted by IRNA as saying.
Wrong Policy
Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) reached a historic deal on July 14, which provides for sanctions relief in return for time-bound restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear work. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in the wake of the accord to endorse it, terminating all its previous resolutions against Iran. The president said the July 20 resolution was an acknowledgement that sanctions were all unfair. “The latest UN resolution, which was adopted to remove sanctions, meant that imposing the cruel sanctions was a wrong policy.”
Following Rouhani’s speech, various divisions of the Iranian Armed Forces staged a military parade and showcased their capabilities. In the ceremony which took place at the mausoleum of the late Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, units of military forces marched in uniform before Rouhani and top military commanders in a demonstration of military might and defensive power. Foreign delegates were also present in the ceremony. The latest military and defense achievements developed by Iranian experts were put on display at the parade.
