Tehran, August 6 (ANI): Iran’s Acting Defense Minister, Brig. Gen. Majid Ebn-e-Reza, on Thursday asserted the country’s military preparedness to counter external security threats, saying the Iranian Armed Forces’ readiness is backed by the nation’s domestic defense industry.
“Every day, the signs of the enemy’s erosion of power become more evident; however, our Armed Forces, relying on the country’s defense industry, are fully equipped to respond to any threat,” the official state news agency IRNA quoted Ebn-e-Reza as saying in a post on his social media account.
Ebn-e-Reza warned that nations seeking to purchase security and military superiority from foreign suppliers would soon discover that Iran’s indigenous technology surpasses regional military hardware.
The acting minister’s remarks come amid renewed tensions between Tehran and Washington following President Donald Trump’s latest warnings of possible military action against Iran.
Speaking Tuesday, Trump said Iran would be “hit very hard” if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened “very soon.”
Connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, the Strait of Hormuz is a vital international trade route through which major oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from Gulf producers reach global markets.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump said the United States was “having very good discussions” with Iranian officials. Tehran, however, quickly rejected claims that active diplomatic negotiations were underway.
Trump had earlier warned that Washington was offering Iran a “last chance before decapitation,” adding that both sides were discussing reopening the Strait of Hormuz “literally by tomorrow.”
“I mean they’re going to go quickly, one way or the other. It’s not very complex,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
“We’re talking about the Strait, the opening of the Strait, having it open, literally by tomorrow,” he added.
Rejecting Trump’s remarks during a press briefing in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, “We are not holding any negotiations with the United States at present.”
Baqaei added that, aside from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is currently on a pilgrimage in Iraq, the entire Iranian diplomatic team remains in Tehran. (ANI)
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