Rouhani ordered the Defense Minister to firmly speed up plans to produce different missiles needed by the country’s armed forces, despite reports that the US would impose fresh sanctions against Tehran.

Iranian President Sheikh Hasan Rouhani ordered the Defense Minister to firmly speed up plans to produce different missiles needed by the country's armed forces, despite reports that the US would impose fresh sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“In line with the US hostile policies and illegitimate and illegal intervention to (curb) Iran's right to boost its defensive power, it seems that the US government is seeking to add new people and organizations under the list of previous cruel sanctions,” Rouhani said in a decree to Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on Thursday.

The decree came a day after a report by The Wall Street Journal that Washington is preparing sanctions against firms and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates over alleged links to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Rouhani noted that in case of repetition of such false and interventionist measures by the US, the Ministry of Defense is duty-bound to make new planning to expand the country's missile capabilities, using all the existing facilities, IRNA news agency reported.

He underlined that Iran's defensive capability is a source of regional stability and security and it not only poses no threat to other countries, but rather it is only a means to protect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the country in the face of terrorism and extremism in line with joint regional and global interests.

Over the course of the nuclear talks, the Iranian government announced that it never negotiated over its legitimate defensive power, including its missile program, and will accept no restrictions in this regard, Rouhani said, according to IRNA.