Missile capability Iran’s red line, non-negotiable: IRGC

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says defense and missile capabilities are Iran’s red line, stressing that Tehran has not held and will never hold any negotiations with the Europeans in this regard.

“Based on previous experience, we should make efforts to boost defensive capabilities with the purpose of guaranteeing the security of our country and nation,” the IRGC spokesman, Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, said in an interview with Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network on Saturday.

He added that Iran’s defense power would serve the interests of the country’s allies as well and emphasized that the Islamic Republic would never yield to pressure to stop upgrading its military equipment or halt the work on boosting their precision and speed.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in February that the Islamic Republic would never hold negotiations either about the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement or its defensive missile program.

Rouhani rules out talks on nuclear deal, missiles

The Iranian president says Tehran will not hold negotiations either about the JCPOA or its defensive missile program.

“We never regard other issues linked to the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). The JCPOA is a seven-sided agreement…The JCPOA is an international agreement which has been endorsed by [UN] Security Council Resolution 2231,” Rouhani said at a press conference in the presence of Iranian and foreign reporters in Tehran.

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami also said in April that the Islamic Republic was determined to boost its deterrent power, stressing that the Iranian nation, particularly the Armed Forces, was not fearful of any enemy.

The Iranian nation is standing bravely and strongly against enemies who have so far failed to achieve any of their demands, Hatami said.