MNA� Reacting to French president�s recent remarks on Iran�s missile program, FM Spokesman Ghasemi reaffirmed the country�s vehement opposition to any negotiation on its defense and missile issues.

�They [French officials] must take more care in what they say about their analysis of regional developments,� Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said in response to a question about French President Emanuel Macron�s recent remarks about holding negotations with Iran on reducing the country�s defense capabilities.

�Iran by no means will ever allow any negotiations on its defense and missile issues,� Ghasemi stressed. �The Islamic Republic has certainly the necessary persistence against such demands and considers it its own right to pursue its policies as it sees fit.�

Ghasemi further called on France�s authorities to take the realities of the region into consideration when making comments on other regional issues.

The Iranian diplomat went on to express hope that the necessary conditions would be provided in the near future for the meeting of Iranian and French officials in Tehran.

�We will have many discussions with �lys�e officials so that they can have a more accurate and deeper understanding of issues related to Iran and our region. We will remind them that Iran is the only country that has paid a heavy price in fighting terrorism in the past few years,� he said.

Ghasemi went on to add, �they need to remember that if Iran had not stood against terrorism, the terrorists would have left a far more devastating damage not only across the Middle East, but in Europe and other parts of the world as well, as it had been the case in some European cities in the past years.�

�The Islamic Republic of Iran fought against terrorism with adopting the right policies and succeeded in pushing terrorists out of the battlefield to a large extent,� he concluded.