Spokesman slams Western comments on Iran's missile industries

Iranian Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht rapped French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for his recent remarks on the necessity of talks with Tehran on its missile program.

Nobakht stressed that Iran never allows foreigners to meddle with its military defensive capability.

"No one is allowed to meddle with our defense and missile issues. We consider defense and missile power as our inalienable right and we have not and will not hold talks with anyone on our defense issues," Nobakht told reporters in his weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

He referred to Le Drian's claims of talks with Iran on the latter's missile program, and said expression of views is completely different from negotiations that could bring up a deal like the 2015 nuclear agreement.

His comments came after Le Drian said that he will visit Iran on March 5 to discuss Tehran’s ballistic-missile program and the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with the P5+1 group of countries.

"We have embarked upon a dialogue with Iran on the issue of ballistics and regional questions," Le Drian told the Le Figaro daily in an interview to be published on January 22.

In relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, rejected media reports claiming that Tehran has held talks with the European states on its missile program.

EA