Iran says won't hesitate to enhance deterrence power

"The threat of using force by the US against other states runs counter to the international law, especially the provisions of the United Nations Charter," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said on Tuesday.

"And, therefore, the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to strengthen its deterrence capability and protect its rights and security," he added.

The remarks came after a torrent of provocative comments by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)'s annual Policy Summit in Washington, DC. There, Blinken accused Iran of "exporting its aggression" and seeking to "obtain a nuclear weapon," repeating Washington's "all-options-on-the-table" threat against Tehran.

The Islamic Republic has, on numerous occasions, assertively negated all of the United States' allegations of regional intervention, besides reminding that it neither has nor will ever pursue the attainment of nuclear weapons on religious and moral grounds.

Kan'ani likewise urged American officials to abandon their routine practice of throwing such "baseless and unfounded" accusations against Iran.

He also advised that Washington reconsider continuing its "illegal and defeated" policies vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic.

Also on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a tweet hailed Iran's growing deterrence power and the country's efforts at strengthening it.

"Iran's deterrence power serves to guarantee sustainable regional security and peace," the top diplomat wrote.

The Islamic Republic would continue to practice "dignified diplomacy" in its efforts at fostering its foreign relations, and would simultaneously reinvigorate its military and defensive strength, he said. The joint pursuit "heralds a bright future" for the country, Amir-Abdollahian concluded.