“The issues raised by the Americans over the past days, are nothing new,” Velyati told reporters at a press conference on Saturday.
“From the beginning, Iran has sought self-sufficiency in the defense sector while the US and its allies have always been opposed to it,” he added.
Velayati, who is also an adviser to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, further emphasized that the Islamic Republic never asks for permission from anybody to defend itself.
His comments came a week after Iran successfully test-fired a ballistic missile dubbed ‘Emad’, a long-range guided projectile that can hit targets with high precision.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Friday that test-firing the new long-range ballistic missile by Iran is in “clear violation” of UN sanctions banning such launches.
Also on Friday, US President Barack Obama vowed at a news conference at the White House to continue to enforce sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
During the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, France, Britain and Germany), which concluded in Vienna on July 14, the United States and its allies exerted pressure on Iran over its military capabilities.
Iran, however, said it would only discuss its nuclear program as its missiles are solely employed as a deterrent against any potential foreign aggression.
Since the successful conclusion of the nuclear negotiations, Iranian officials have time and again stressed that the country’s military capabilities would not be affected by the finalized text of the nuclear agreement- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)- or a resolution that the United Nations Security Council passed later to endorse the JCPOA.