Iran plan to boost military

IRAN plans to boost its ballistic and cruise missile capacity and acquire modern fighter planes and submarines, the Iranian state news agency reports.

News of the military development plans came a day after Iran dismissed a French call for negotiations on Tehran’s future nuclear plans, its ballistic missile arsenal and its role in wars in Syria and Yemen.

The move also follows the US pullout from Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers.

Earlier this week state media in Iran also reported the launch of war games involving some 150,000 volunteer Basij militia members, who vowed to defend the Islamic state against “foreign threats” including its arch foe, the United States.

Tehran is furious over US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord on Iran’s nuclear program and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Senior Iranian officials have warned the country will not yield easily to a renewed US campaign to strangle Iran’s vital oil exports.

They say the country’s missile program is solely for defence purposes and is not negotiable as demanded by the United States and European countries.

“Increasing ballistic and cruise missile capacity ... and the acquisition of next-generation fighters and heavy and long-range vessels and submarines with various weapons capabilities are among the new plans of this ministry,” said Mohammad Ahadi, deputy defence minister for international affairs, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

Mr Ahadi also defended Iran’s role in conflicts in Iraq and Syria: “If Iran and its allies in Syria and Iraq had not stopped Islamic State, today the map of the region would be different and the world would face a terrible challenge.”