TEHRAN -- President Seyed Mohammad Khatami said Saturday night at a gathering of the country's defense minister and managers of military industries of the defense forces that Iran condemns war and does not favor it with any country, even with the enemies.

"Yet, we need to be ready to defend our political and territorial integrity at all times and under all possible conditions," added the president, IRNA reported.

President khatami reiterated the need to be fully alert and ready to react under the current tough conditions due to U.S. threats, adding, "Unfortunately the international atmosphere is being guided towards flickering the flames of war in various parts of the due to drastically faulty policies adopted by the U.S. politicians."

Emphasizing on the need for safeguarding the national unity and refraining form highlighting the differences which can provide good excuses for the enemies, President Khatami said, "Our motto is denouncing war, and aggression, while promoting the detente policy, even with our enemies."

The head of the country's Supreme National Security Council said, "The Iranian nation, regardless of their races, social classes and political tendencies, and despite all the hardships they tolerate and hindrances they face, do not yield to any sort of threats, or foreign invasions, thanks to their national pride and their religious teachings.

Evaluating the nation's strategic and defensive general outlines, as clear and to the point the president said, "Based on our beliefs and our national interests, we are not a warmonger or expansionist nation and we feel obliged to condemn expansionist policies."

He said that Iran has never planned for attacking the other nations, and will never do so in the future either.

President Khatami, all the same, asked the nation's defense authorities to design dynamic strategies in devising the nation's defense strategies, adding, "We need to depend not only on our physical and technological strength, but also on the power of our strong belief in God, our nation's solidarity and the armed forces' defensive readiness.

Elsewhere in his remarks, President Khatami made clear that Iran has always favored clearing the region form weapons of mass destruction, believing that demolishing such weapons in the region is to the benefit of the global peace and the regional stability.

President Khatami also considered the need to rely on a strong diplomatic strategy and a solid and harmonized defensive military doctrine, based on and in direct interaction with the general strategies of the country, all at the service of defending the nation's vital interests.