TEHRAN - Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, announced on Monday that the demand for the purchase of Iran’s sophisticated drones is far higher than production.

“Today, the number of customers of our drones are several times more than our production capacity,” General Baqeri said, adding that “major world powers” are vying to purchase Iranian weapons.

Speaking at a symposium in Tehran on the importance of the eight-year Sacred Defense in defending Iran, the high-ranking general said stated that the Islamic Republic was previously prohibited from acquiring foreign-made weaponry, but is now facing limitations on the export of its domestically manufactured military equipment.

The commander noted that Iran has evolved into a “big drone power” that is outperforming other major countries.

The armed forces are now self-sufficient thanks to extraordinary advancements made in recent years by Iranian military specialists and engineers in the manufacture of a wide variety of indigenous equipment.

Authorities have stated that their nation will never negotiate on its defense capabilities and will not hesitate to strengthen them, especially its missile capacity, which is solely intended for defense.

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has frequently urged maintaining and enhancing Iran’s defense capabilities.

On September 1, the drone, dubbed Kian, was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard, commander of Iran’s Air Defense Force.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sabahifard said Kian had been designed in two types, one of which enjoys high-speed capabilities for tracking and identifying targets while the other one is capable of long-haul flights to conduct precision-strike operations.

He said the advanced drone was designed, produced, tested and operationalized in one year by the young experts of the drone unit of the Air Defense Force.

Iran has made major breakthroughs in defense industry and attained self-sufficiency in producing military equipment and hardware despite facing sanctions imposed by the United States.

The Islamic Republic says its military power is solely for defensive purposes and does not pose any threat to other countries.

Sabahifard hailed the recent progress of his forces, saying Iran’s air defense achievements are way ahead of expectations.

The general also pointed to the domestically-built missile defense system dubbed “Bavar-373” and said few countries have the capabilities to produce similar missile defense systems.