Rebuffing Trump, Iran president says missile tests to continue ‘if necessary’

Iran President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic does not need the permission of the United States to conduct missile tests, which would continue “if technically necessary.”

“Our missiles are for our defense and for peace, they are not offensive. Know that while there is a technical need to conduct missile tests, we will do so and we will ask the permission of no one,” Rouhani tells reporters in Tehran, following renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump.

Rouhani says that Iranians are “waiting for this government to be civil” and that “hopefully, things will settle down … so we could pass more accurate judgments.”

Rouhani also criticized a meeting Trump attended in Saudi Arabia yesterday, describing it as a “show-off” that “will not have any political and practical values.”

The president adds that “the issue of terrorism cannot be solved through giving money to superpowers.”

— Agencies