TEHRAN – The Parliament is determined to strengthen Iran’s defense power, the chairman of the Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has said. 

“The defense sector is the most important pillar of the country, and we should not allow the issue of defense in the country to be undermined,” Mehr on Monday quoted Mojtaba Zonnour as saying.

The statement by the top legislator comes as Iran has decided to increase by two times its defense projects following the November 27 assassination of Iranian nuclear and defense scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Israel is the prime suspect for the assassination.

Zonnour said the Majlis (Parliament) has focused on improving and promoting defense capabilities at the highest level.

Highlighting the need for paying serious attention to the defense budget, he said the country’s defense budget is of paramount importance and the Parliament is following up this issue firmly and decisively.

“We believe that defense sector in the country should be strengthened optimally and this issue will be taken into serious consideration in next year’s budget bill (2021 budget bill),” Zonnour added.

Last week, Defense Minister Amir Hatami warned the enemies that no atrocity, terror or stupid act will go unanswered.

“We will pursue the perpetrators till the end and we will follow the order of the Commander-in-Chief (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei),” Hatami said on November 30 during the funeral procession for Fakhrizadeh.

“I sincerely thank all the nations and governments that sympathized with Iran for this incident and expressed their disgust with the assassination,” Hatami said.

General Hatami warned the countries that sponsor terrorism that the Islamic Republic has always dealt with terrorists “as we did in the region in Syria and Iraq, along with the governments and nations and the armed forces of those countries.”

“We will do it again,” he said. “We will be proud and dignified, and whoever bows down to the terrorists will surely be ashamed.”

The minister said the budget for defense projects will double in the next Iranian fiscal year.

“The first step to continue the path of Martyr Fakhrizadeh was taken yesterday in the cabinet,” Hatami said, adding, “While the budget of the Research and Innovation Organization of the Defense Ministry was increased for 1400 (2020-2021), yesterday we decided to double this budget.”

MH/PA