TEHRAN – Iran’s vice president for science and technology has said that defense projects will be assigned to science-based companies for completion.

Sorena Sattari made the announcement during a ceremony where he and Defense Minister Amir Hatami signed an agreement for cooperation between the Presidential Department for Science and Technology and Ministry of Defense, ISNA reported.

“Through cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, projects that the ministry does not classify as confidential will be assigned to science-based companies. The reason is that innovation occurs at science-based companies, not in government systems,” Sattari said during the ceremony.

He hoped that the arrangements will enable the Defense Ministry to benefit from advancements that science-based companies have gained in such fields as stem cells and cognitive science.

He pointed out that as the defense sector in Iran is entirely under foreign sanctions, Iran has to rely on its own human resources for development in this field.

Hatami says outstanding projects underway

Speaking during the same ceremony, Hatami said that new projects are going to get underway to design “outstanding products” in the fields of aviation, space, biology, and cognitive science.

These products, Hatami said, will generate superiority for Iran’s defense sector, Fars reported.

Elsewhere, Hatami said that Washington is using sanctions and pressures as a weapon to practice economic terrorism against the Iranian nation.

“The enemies of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, headed by America, are making their utmost attempts to deprive the Iranian nation of its preliminary rights.”

“In light of economic terrorism, the enemies have violated the basic rights of the Iranian nation in a move to inflict damage on our people," he said.

The defense chief underlined the Iranian nation’s will and capability to turn threats into opportunity, and said, “We produce anything we need inside the country as we did in the past.”

Iran has made major achievements in manufacturing different weapons and military equipment over the past decades.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly urged the Iranian armed forces to further reinvigorate their capabilities and deterrence power.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not intend to start a war against anyone but you (armed forces) should increase your capabilities to the extent that not only does the enemy fear attacking Iran but also the shadow of war against the Iranian nation will fade away with the help of the armed forces’ solidarity, might and effective deployment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing Navy officials and commanders in Tehran in February on the occasion of the Navy Day in Iran.

He added that the armed forces’ preparedness played as a deterrent power against the enemy threats.

SP/PA