Iran will not retreat from nuclear technology or scientific development despite what it describes as repeated enemy efforts to destroy its nuclear industry, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Deputy Chief Major General Mostafa Izadi said. Speaking at an event commemorating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he said Iran would continue its nuclear, scientific and development progress with strength.

Izadi said adversaries had pursued plans to weaken, overthrow and fragment Iran. He alleged their aims included controlling Iran's oil resources and the Strait of Hormuz, destroying Iranian-Islamic civilisation, weakening the armed forces and resistance front, and eliminating the nuclear industry. None of those efforts had succeeded, he claimed. He also said the Islamic Republic had overcome difficult circumstances through reliance on God and prudent leadership.

The IRGC official cited Iran's claimed full armed-forces control over the Strait of Hormuz, advances in missile capability and modern air-defence systems as sources of deterrence. He said these capabilities had forced opponents into a cautious and largely inactive position. Izadi also claimed the resistance front had strengthened its regional influence through control of strategic access points in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.