Iran’s defense capabilities are not negotiable, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday in remarks made previously but which now come amid increased pressure from the US government over Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Iran has reacted defiantly, dismissing Trump’s demands for the pact to be toughened up. Last week, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military force in the country, said its ballistic missile program would accelerate despite US and European Union pressure to suspend it. “The defense capabilities and strength of the country are not negotiable or up for haggling,” Khamenei was cited as saying at a ceremony at the Imam Ali army officer’s academy in Tehran, according to state media. Under the landmark 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, the Islamic Republic agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of a number of sanctions.

Source: Egypt Independent October 25, 2017 11:03 UTC