“Iran’s national security doctrine is founded upon defense and deterrence and in it there is no aggressive or hostile attitude towards any country,” Dehqan said on Tuesday during a visit to Turkmenistan’s Military Academy in Ashgabat.
The belief in Iran is that the country must be so powerful that enemies do not dare to threaten it, he underlined.
General Dehqan further referred to terrorism, extremism and violence as factors that threaten regional and global security, and said confronting these phenomena requires unity and accord among the countries of the region and non-interference from those who have played a role in the creation of insecurities in countries like Syria and Iraq.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Iran’s defense minister stressed that neighboring countries, especially Turkmenistan, hold a special position in Tehran’s foreign policy.
Dehqan is on a two-day official visit to Turkmenistan at the invitation of his Turkmen counterpart Begenc Gundogdyyew.
This is the first trip by an Iranian defense minister to Turkmenistan following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.