Iranian president: Iran's missile capabilities are non-negotiable

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned yesterday that Iran will not negotiate on the Islamic Republic’s missile capabilities, the Anadolu news agency report.

Speaking during a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Yukiya Amano in Tehran, Rouhani said: “There is no place for weapons of mass destruction in our defence strategy, and Iran’s missiles capability is by no means and at no level negotiable.”

The Iranian president called on the agency to play a more active role in the Iranian nuclear issue.

An official statement posted on the Iranian presidency’s website said: “For 12 years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has followed up on the peaceful Iranian nuclear activities, and published numerous reports confirming the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear facilities,” pointing out that Iran hopes that the agency will “play a more active role in announcing the transparency of its nuclear programme”.

The statement quoted Rouhani as saying: “Iran does not ask for more than its legal rights, especially its right to enriched uranium for peaceful purposes,” stressing that Iran is serious in its negotiations with the G5+1 group on its nuclear programme, and positive results will benefit all parties and will lead to promoting world peace.