TEHRAN – Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic system in Iran does not tolerate “threats, insults and conflicts”.

“Participation of the people from various social layers in the presidential [May 19] elections confirmed legitimacy of the Islamic system and proved the fact that this country does not tolerate threats, insults and conflicts,” the brigadier general said in a speech at the Sacred Defense Museum in Tehran.

He also said that Iran enjoys the “highest military power” in the region with a reliance on its missiles.

Elsewhere, Dehqan said that the hegemonic system and the Zionist regime of Israel do not attach importance to “freedom of speech”, noting they just prioritize their own interests. 

Hegemonic system is violating human rights in other countries in order to gain benefits, he said in an indirect reference to a $110 billion arms deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which is considered the most despotic regime in the Arab world.  

He described Saudi invasion of Yemen and its crackdown on Bahraini protestors as examples of human rights violations.

Bahraini police raided Diraz, the hometown of opposition cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, on Tuesday killing at least five demonstrators and injuring others wounded. Police also arrested 286 people in the crackdown.

Dehqan also said, “We learnt many lessons during the Sacred Defense [1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war] which should be transferred to future generations.”

NA