Iran's Rouhani: We have built, are building, and will continue to build missiles

"We have built, are building, and will continue to build missiles," Rouhani said on state TV.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – In a speech to Parliament on Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would not stop producing missiles.

“We have built, are building, and will continue to build missiles,” the re-elected cleric said, adding, “We are not contradicting UN Resolution 2231.”

Last week, US President Donald Trump refused to confirm Iran had stayed loyal to the nuclear agreement it signed with the 5+1 world powers in 2015 to curb its nuclear program in return for lifting most international sanctions.

On Saturday, Iranian army Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan also rejected the idea of discussing the country’s missile capabilities, calling it “not negotiable.”

“Our missile might is among the capabilities that are not negotiable at all,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted the official.

In August, Rouhani had warned Washington that Tehran would tear the nuclear agreement apart in “a matter of hours” if new sanctions were issued.

Tensions have been escalating between Tehran and Washington since Iran conducted missile tests and strikes. Each country accuses the other of violating the spirit of the deal.

In July, President Trump and his administration imposed new economic sanctions on Tehran.

The US government said the sanctions targeted 18 entities and people for backing “illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity.”

The Trump administration added the sanctions were enforced over Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its “malign activities” in the Middle East which destabilized any “positive contributions” from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany