Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that Tehran was "unmoved" by the United States threats and only relies on its own defence means amid hostile rhetoric against the country, including hints of military aggression, emanating from Washington.
"Iran is unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people," Zarif said on his Twitter account.
"We will never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defence," the Iranian Minister pointed out.
In another tweet, published minutes later, Zarif challenged Iran's enemies to verifiably and sincerely declare the defensive nature of their military programme. "We will never use our weapons against anyone, except in self-defence. let us see if any of those who complain can make the same statement," he said.