TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Iranian Defense Ministry, in a statement on Sunday, praised the country�s self-sufficiency in manufacturing state-of-the-art military hardware, describing those making efforts to develop the country�s defense sector as �strategic assets�.

In the statement released on Sunday on the occasion of Iran�s Defense Industry Day, the ministry commended achievements reached by the country�s Armed Forces in the defense sector after the 1979 Islamic Revolution despite threats and sanctions.

�The dramatic and stunning progress of (Iranian) experts in the defense industry under the flag of the Ministry of Defense and despite threats and sanctions is, in fact, a glorious symbol of self-sufficiency, self-confidence and manifestation of the Resistance Economy,� the statement went on to say.

An exhibition of the Defense Ministry�s achievements was held in Tehran on Sunday with President Hassan Rouhani in attendance, during which Bavar-373 long-range air defense missile system, designed and manufactured by Iranian experts, was put on display.

The president also went to the Defense Ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization today, marking Iran�s Defense Industry Day, and visited the latest military products developed by local experts in the aeronautical sphere.

Rouhani was briefed on different stages of manufacturing Iran�s �national turbojet engine�, and visited other units displaying achievements in the production of fighter and cargo jets, helicopters and drones.

Iranian military technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

Tehran has always assured other nations that its military might poses no threat to regional countries, saying that the Islamic Republic�s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.

By Tasnim News Agency