Iran's activities in the region are geared toward promoting international peace and security rather than stoking tensions but Tehran will not compromise on its military capabilities, including its missile program, says a senior official.
The Iranian government has for years been the initiator of security arrangements with the cooperation of regional states and "manufactured concerns" by extra-regional powers about the country's defense strategies are "unacceptable", Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Thursday in response to France's recent claims about Tehran's missile activities and regional policy.
In an bid to get tougher on Tehran while preserving the nuclear deal that the United States has threatened to scrap, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Iran's ballistic missile program must be placed under international surveillance, Reuters reported.
"It's indispensable for the security of the region, and so we need a mechanism of sanctions and control adapted to that," he added, claiming that Iranian influence in regional countries can sometimes be a "factor of destabilization".
***Unrealistic Comments
Qasemi described the French president's comments as "unrealistic" and "biased", which do not help ameliorate the situation in the region, IRNA reported.
He said Iran's missile program is purely for defensive and deterrent purposes, adding, "The peace-seeking Iran will never allow others to attempt to decrease its defense and deterrent power while equipping regional countries with various types of deadly weapons at the same time."
"The real threat is the rivalry between the United States and some European countries to sell advanced weapons to certain countries in the region, which is considered a provocative move that increases regional insecurity and instability through the proliferation of weapons as well as the revamp and expansion of arsenals."
The official added that Iran's campaign against terrorism has been in coordination with regional governments and in compliance with international law.
"It has been useful and effective not only in maintaining the integrity and national sovereignty of the countries threatened by Daesh terrorists as well as international peace and security but also in protecting the lives of innocent people in other countries such as France," he said, referring to the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group.
***Destabilizing Force
In addition, Qasemi dismissed recent claims by Germany that the hostility between Israel and Iran is further worsening the Syrian conflict, saying that Israel is the destabilizing force in the region.
Days after anti-aircraft fire downed an Israeli warplane returning from what Israel called a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria, German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert urged Iran to "abandon its aggressive stance toward Israel".
"Iran's military engagement in Syria and Lebanon, in particular the militias it controls, is leading to a dangerous escalation in the Syrian civil war itself," Seibert claimed on Monday, according to the German government's website.
Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main regional ally, says it has military advisors and volunteers in Syria but denies having a conventional force on the ground.
Qasemi said, "Iran … does not see any need to exacerbate tensions and conflicts in the region, and this is the occupying and aggressor Zionist regime, which has posed a serious threat to security, stability, and peace in the region and should be reprimanded," ISNA reported.
He also denied Iran's involvement in the recent confrontation, adding that the Syrian government has every right to defend its territorial integrity against any aggression.
