Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran should further develop its military, including its missiles, after US President Donald Trump made threats of force against Tehran if it refused to negotiate over its nuclear programme.
Khamenei spoke a day after Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned what he called “reckless and inflammatory statements” by Trump in interviews with the New York Post and Fox News in which he said he preferred doing a deal to prevent Tehran developing a nuclear weapon to bombing the country.
“Progress should not be stopped, we cannot be satisfied (with our current level). Say that we previously set a limit for the accuracy of our missiles, but we now feel this limit is no longer enough. We have to go forward,” Khamenei said, citing a need to focus on innovation in the Iranian military.
“Today, our defensive power is well-known, our enemies are afraid of this. This is very important for our country,” he added after visiting a Tehran exhibition showcasing the latest developments in Iran’s defence sector.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that during the exhibition a jet-powered “suicide drone” — loitering munitions that hover over targets — was unveiled with imagery of a submarine-launched kamikaze drone displayed for the first time.
Tehran insists its ballistic missile programme is purely defensive but it is seen in the West as a destabilising factor in a volatile, conflict-ridden region.
Khamenei, who said on Friday that talks with the US were “not smart, wise or honourable”, made no mention of Trump in his remarks on Wednesday.
