Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi on Tuesday reiterated the defensive nature of his country's military power, and voiced Tehran's readiness to export its military weapons and products to the regional countries. "Our weapons are merely for deterring those powers that think they can wage an attack on Iran," Vahidi said addressing the 19th international conference on the Persian Gulf in Tehran.
"We have announced that our defensive doctrine is based on deterrence," Vahidi said, according to Fars News Agency. "That is exactly unlike the US preemptive doctrine which is an aggressive and offensive doctrine." Vahidi added that Iran is ready to sign a collective security pact with other regional states, adding that Tehran is also prepared to attend negotiations with the regional states over collective establishment of security in the region.
The Iranian defense minister underlined that the West is trying to intimidate the region by portraying Iran's military power as a threat to regional security. In addition, Vahidi slammed the US policy in the Gulf region, and stated that the US military activities in Yemen indicate that Washington intends to continue its military presence in the region.
