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| Iran president Rouhani says country will increase missile capabilities after 'ignorant' Trump speech | Iran president Rouhani says country will increase missile capabilities after 'ignorant' Trump speech |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has told the country's armed forces he will boost their missile capabilities, according to state media. | |
| He said the country would not be seeking permission from anyone to "defend" itself. | He said the country would not be seeking permission from anyone to "defend" itself. |
| Mr Rouhani's comments came after an inflammatory speech by US President Donald Trump at the United Nations, in which he verbally attacked Iran, along with North Korea. | Mr Rouhani's comments came after an inflammatory speech by US President Donald Trump at the United Nations, in which he verbally attacked Iran, along with North Korea. |
| Speaking at a parade commemorating the country's bloody war with Iraq, Mr Rouhani said: "We will increase our military power as a deterrent. | |
| "We will strengthen our missile capabilities ... We will not seek permission from anyone to defend our country." | "We will strengthen our missile capabilities ... We will not seek permission from anyone to defend our country." |
| Mr Rouhani also said Tehran would keep supporting the "oppressed people of Yemen, Syria and Palestine", a reference to Iran's role in wars in Yemen and Syria and support for Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas. | |
| During his debut UN speech, Mr Trump called Iran a "murderous regime" and said the 2015 nuclear deal with the country was an "embarrassment". | |
| The agreement, in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of economic sanctions, was hailed as a major step forward in diplomatic relations between the two countries. | |
| But Mr Trump has long derided the deal, and frequently cited it during his election campaign as an example of how American power was being lost. | |
| Mr Rouhani has maintained it cannot be renegotiated. | |
| He branded Mr Trump a "rogue newcomer" to international relations and said his approach to the deal was "ignorant and absurd". | |
| Tensions have been increasing between the US and Iran since Mr Trump took power, though much of his focus has so far been on North Korea. | |
| But analysts fear his rhetoric on Iran has “reinforced the impression that he plans to take action to undermine the [nuclear] deal”. |