TEHRAN (FNA)- Advisor to Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Daqiqi underlined the country's deterrence power, and said that the regional Arab countries purchase arms 10 times more than Iran.

"At present, the military expenses and arms purchase of the regional Arab countries stands at figures 10 times more than Iran, but we don�t intend to buy weapons and equipment to gain military balance," Daqiqi told FNA on Tuesday.

Noting that Iran cares for the development and welfare of people instead of spending all its revenues for military purchases, he said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran's military strategy is effective deterrence and this strategy can be decisive in the battle ground."

Daqiqi also stressed that Iran is not after rivalry with the European countries or the US to tilt the military balance towards itself.

His remarks came as reports said in March that Saudi Arabia has surpassed India to become in 2014 the largest importer of military equipment in a market whose volume has reached a record high.

In 2014, arms sales increased for the sixth consecutive year, reaching $ 64.4 billion, against $ 56 billion in 2013, an increase of 13.4 percent, says the document prepared by the consulting firm IHS Janes, based in London.

This record figure was fueled by unprecedented demand from emerging economies for military aircraft and rising regional tensions in the Middle East and in Asia Pacific, said Ben Moores of IHS Janes.

The report, which covers some 65 countries, indicated that Riyadh was the largest buyer of weapons in the world, with imports reaching $ 6.4 billion.

Saudi Arabia, the second in 2013, had dethroned India which imported $5.5 billion of military equipment last year, still an impressive number.

Saudi imports increased by 54 percent, and is bound to increase by 52 percent in 2015 to $9.8 billion, the report says.

In 2015, one out of 7 dollars spent on arms purchases is or will be spent by Saudi Arabia, insisted IHS Janes, stressing that the Middle East is the largest regional market for arms sales, with some $110 billion of potential imports in the coming decade.

On their own, Saudi Arabia and the UAE imported $8.6 billion of military equipment in 2014, more than any Western European country.

On the export side, the report noted that with sales reaching $ 23.7 billion, the United States provided a third of all exports of weapons and has been the main beneficiary of the market growth.

By Fars News Agency