Iran paid high price for dignity, won't bow to bullying: Acting defense minister
Iran’s acting defense minister says the Islamic Republic has paid a heavy price to maintain its dignity and independence and will never bow to outside pressure and bullying.
Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Ibn al-Reza made the remarks in a Tuesday phone call with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Khaled Nordin.
“The Iranian nation has paid a heavy price to defend its independence, security, and territorial integrity, and will not allow the achievements of this honorable resistance to be disregarded through pressure and bullying.”
The minister said Iran has always sought to establish peace and stability in West Asia and the Persian Gulf. “Peace should not mean accepting illegitimate demands and the imposition of the other side's will,” he added.
The remarks came amid ongoing efforts by the United States and its allies to force Iran to ease its restrictions on transit in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Persian Gulf that is responsible for a fifth of global oil supply and a third of the world's supply of fertilizers.
Iran began restricting transit through Hormuz in early March, days after the start of the illegal joint US-Israeli aggression on the country.
Iran’s parliamentary commission approves strategic Strait of Hormuz security planhttps://t.co/WLtZQKp7Fw
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Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June that allowed Iran to manage the strait and gradually return transit to normal levels, in return for the US lifting its sanctions and blockade on the country.
However, Iran reinstated restrictions in Hormuz after the US violated the terms of the MoU by seeking to undermine Iran's management over the strait.
Ibn al-Reza said in his phone call with Nordin that the Israeli regime's continued acts of genocide and aggression are the primary factor of instability and insecurity in the West Asia region and a source of concern for the entire Muslim world.
He also reiterated that the presence of foreign forces and their military bases in the region can cause “ambiguity, security misunderstandings, and ultimately exacerbate insecurity and instability” in times of crisis and war.
Nordin, for his part, said in the call that Malaysia has witnessed the power and strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its people over the past six months and how Iran powerfully and cohesively defended itself against the aggression by the US and the Israeli regime.
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