TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Hostile sanctions by the United States seek to weaken the country's military capabilities, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said.
The enemies have waged a full-fledged economic war on Iran in order to harm the Islamic republic and its defense power, Tasnim news agency reported Hatami as saying on Tuesday.
The core objectives pursued by the enemies are to foment distrust and disappointment in Iran and tire its defense capabilities, the defense minister said on Monday in an academic event in the capital Tehran.
However, the experts and researchers of the Iranian defense industry will thwart the hostile policies of the enemies by developing advanced technologies, he added.
The United States reimposed comprehensive economic sanctions against the Islamic republic following its withdrawal from the international 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May.
