President: Iran’s military power for deterrence not aggression

Tehran, April 18, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran is not an aggressive power and the posture of Iran's Armed Forces is for deterrence. He made the remarks on the occasion of the Army National Day. The president referred to the Army sacrifices during the Saddam war against Iran, noting that the Army Aviation had big role in supporting the ground force in operations. He thanked the Army for their efforts to preserve security in Iran’s borders in the past three decades. The president hailed unity among all Iran’s Armed Forces including the Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Police and the Volunteer Forces(Basij) and said, “The current smart and powerful armed forces is highly promoted and should not be compared with that of the holy defense era (Iraq war with Iran era).' The Iranian Armed Forces and the country’s defense industry make new initiatives on a daily basis and build new equipment, he noted. The president said that his government was committed to boost the country’s defense power and the defense budget experienced 145 percent growth in the past four years. This government had the honor to equip the armed forces with one of the key technologies used in aerial defense, he added. The president said that the armed forces are much more prepared than any time else but they will not be a threat to any other state. He said that the armed forces will never encourage any county into conflict, adding that “Our moves are aimed at de-escalation of tensions.” “We should be always vigilant towards conspiracies and increase our deterrence power.” The president said, “Our neighbors should know that the Armed Forces are forces for defending the whole region.” He underlined, “We are not an aggressive power and our posture is for deterrence.” “We have shown that any aggression will be given a decisive response.” The joint parade of Iranian Army and other units of Iranian Armed Forced started this morning with the presence of President Hassan Rouhani on the occasion of Army National Day in late Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum. High-ranking commanders of Iranian Armed Forces, including Iranian Army, Iran Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Police Force, Basij Forces (volunteers), Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, Joint Staff Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran attended this ceremony. 1378/IRNA