Regional influence, Iran’s key facet of power

“Today, the enemies of Iran, led by the criminal United States, are pushing the agenda to counter the defense power of the Islamic Republic, all the while as they have been the ones unfaithful to their commitments and made everything in their power to hurt our country,” the Iranian Minister of Defense Amir Hatami said on Friday, while referring to US pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal under the pretext that the agreement does not include Iran’s defense power and regional influence.

Hatami stressed that the country would continue to preserve its dignity by relying on domestic defense capabilities, noting that the US downing of the Iranian airliner Flight 655 in 1988 would have not concluded with the commemoration of the perpetrators if Iran’s defense power was at the height as it is today; “we would have sunken the US naval ship to the depths of the Persian Gulf,” he added.

Hatami then noted that Iran’s development of its elements of power, including its regional influence, has intimidated the enemies.

“Our enemies are the US and the Zionist regime, but all other countries are our friends,” Hatami said, adding that Iran’s defense power would be used to serve the security of regional people.