The Islamic Republic of Iran and China have signed an agreement on military cooperation which would entail the holding of joint military exercises and the cooperation in the “fight on terrorism.”

Iran’s state TV reported on Monday that Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan signed the agreement with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan in Tehran.

The two nations have upgraded their military ties in recent years, with each country’s naval ships visiting the other’s ports.

Later on, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said Tehran is ready to share with China its experiences in fighting terrorism.

Baqeri met with Wanquan and said after that they discussed “the common threats posed by the world powers and the terrorists to the two countries,” and stressed that Beijing’s cooperation with Tehran serves the interests of both nations.

This report comes a day after Moscow stated it is negotiating multi-billion dollar weapons deal with Tehran, which would provide Iran’s army with a broad array of armaments, including tanks and fighter jets.

By: World Israel News Staff
AP contributed to this report

The post Iran, China sign deal on military cooperation appeared first on World Israel News.

Iran has vowed to continue its illicit missile development program despite violating UN resolutions and growing US opposition.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

US Secretary of State Kerry. (AP/Saul Loeb)

Iran has dismissed US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent talk of a “new arrangement” involving Tehran’s ballistic missiles, calling the idea “nonsense.”

Kerry said during a visit to the Gulf earlier this week that the US and its allies were “prepared to work on a new arrangement to find a peaceful solution” to the dispute over recent Iranian missile tests.

Last October and November Iran successfully test-fired its precision-guided long-range Emad missile.

A Security Council resolution adopted after the Iran nuclear deal was signed last year calls for Iran not to launch any ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.

On Saturday, Iranian state TV quoted Defense Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan as saying Kerry should instead focus on problems raised by the presence of US forces in the region and past military interventions.

“The Americans have always shown such behaviors and the US secretary of state’s remarks can be studied from several aspects and show that the US is feeling passive and helpless with regard to Iran’s defense capabilities and that the US-affiliates are feeling concern as they are watching the Americans’ inability to support them,” Dehqan told reporters in Tehran on Saturday.

“If the Americans are really after stability in the region, they had better leave it and return to their country and stop supporting the terrorists,” he added.

Kerry played a key role in the negotiations between Iran and world powers that led to last year’s controversial nuclear agreement.

In response to Kerry’s comments, Deputy Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri warned the US officials that Iran’s missile power is a redline which can no way be encroached.

“Iran’s diplomatic apparatus which hammered out a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program to deal firmly and transparently with the US meddling in Iran’s affairs, especially in the domain of defense,” General Jazzayeri told reporters on Friday.

“We are stressing what has been said several times that is the missile power is non-negotiable and among the redlines of the Iranian nation and is meant for developing its defense capabilities, Iran doesn’t get permission from anybody,” he added.

The post Iran furious after Kerry hints of ‘new arrangement’ regarding its missile program appeared first on World Israel News.

A precarious development in the Middle East? Russia and Iran are building stronger military and diplomatic ties.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Iran’s defense minister is visiting Moscow for talks over closer military cooperation with Russia.

Gen. Hossein Dehghan met Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin and also with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.

Shoigu hailed a “high level of mutual trust” between Moscow and Tehran and their readiness to coordinate policies.

The two defense ministers have signed an agreement to expand military ties between the two countries in January 2015. At the time, Shoigu declared that Moscow wanted to develop a “long-term and multifaceted” military relationship with Iran.

Russia and Iran both back Syrian President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war.

Dehghan said in an interview with Russian state television that Tehran wants to expand military and technical ties with Russia.

Russia has a contract with Iran to deliver long-range S-300 air defense missiles, and Tehran also has expressed interest in other Russian weapons.

Jerusalem views the delivery of the S-300 batteries  with “grave concern.” The sale will “only encourage Iranian aggression in the region” and “further undermine the stability of the Middle East,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated after Russia announced the sale to Iran last November.

Dehghan said earlier this month that Iran plans to sign a deal with Russia for the purchase of Su-30 fighter jets.

He also announced during a recent television interview that Iran will sign a contract with Russia for the co-production of an undisclosed number of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter aircraft, Fars News Agency reports.

Should the deal go through, Iran will be the second country in the world after India to produce a variation of the Su-30 fighter jet locally.

Russia’s Sputnik News reported on Monday that Iran plans to import Russian technology to produce the Russian T-90 tank.

Commander of the Iranian Ground Forces, Brigadier General Heydari Kiyumars, said that “Iran wants to take over the tank production technology along with its purchase,” noting that the Iranian Army cannot acquire military equipment without importing the technology pertaining to its production.

The post Iranian defense minister visits Russia to foster military ties appeared first on World Israel News.