TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that post-West world has been formed and the U.S. hegemony is over.

President Donald Trump’s secret visit to Iraq shows that the U.S. hegemony is over, he said during a speech at AJA University of Command and Staff.

On December 26, Trump spent a few hours at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq’s western Anbar Province but did not visit the capital Baghdad. A scheduled meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi was scrapped and they only talked over the phone.

Trump acknowledged the security concerns about visiting Iraq, saying it was “pretty sad” that he needed such secrecy to see U.S. troops.

“Pretty sad when you spend $7 trillion in the Middle East, and going in has to be under this massive cover with planes all over and all of the greatest equipment in the world, and you do everything to get in safely,” he said.

‘Iran builds missiles by relying on own capacities’

Zarif also said that Iran builds missiles by relying on domestic capacities.

“The U.S. and certain other Western countries are angry, because we build our missile by relying on domestic experts and we are not dependent on them,” he said.

The chief diplomat noted that the Iranians have succeeded to turn limitations into opportunities.

He also said that Iran is independent and no country can decide for it.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday that Tehran decides about its missile program based on its interests and the issue is “non-negotiable”.

“We take decision about range, precision, speed and destruction power of our missiles based on our interests and threats and this process is not negotiable,” Shamkhani told reporters on the sidelines of a conference held at the National Library of Iran.

NA/PA