Rouhani vows to defend Muslims against Israel
Rouhani vows to defend Muslims against Israel
Iran used its annual Army Day parade on Sunday to showcase parts of a long-awaited air defence system ordered from Russia, a move likely to irk critics of the arms deal.
The S-300 system has been on order since 2007 but Russia postponed the sale three years later after the UN Security Council passed a resolution relating to Iran’s nuclear programme.
A deal between Iran and six world powers over its nuclear activities which lifted sanctions in January removed the barriers to delivery, but the fully operational system is still awaited.
According to pictures published by the semi-official ISNA news agency, S-300 missile tubes and the radar equipment were shown during the military parade held in southern Tehran.
Iran insists the system is necessary to defend itself from threats of attack, including possible bombing of its nuclear facilities, and the S-300 would allow early detection of approaching aircraft.
Speaking during the parade, President Hassan Rouhani vowed to defend Muslim countries against terrorism and Israel while insisting that its neighbours should not feel threatened.
“If tomorrow, your capitals face danger from terrorism or Zionism, the power that will give you a positive answer is the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. But he added that Iran would only help if Muslim countries asked it to, and said its military power was purely for defensive and deterrent purposes.
Meanwhile, Seeking European leverage to secure better terms from the United States following the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran asked the European Union to put pressure on Washington to let it into the global financial system.
In a visit to Tehran by a high-powered EU team in which both sides spoke of a significant expansion in economic and energy ties, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed EU support for its bid to join the World Trade Organisation and spoke of a “new beginning” in relations with Europe.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, whose team of seven commissioners was the biggest to visit Tehran in more than a decade, said it was in Europe’s interest to make sure European banks felt confident to do business in Iran.
But she chided Tehran for holding ballistic missile tests and said the EU would continue to stand firm on human rights violations in Iran.
