MNA – IRGC’s first-in-command said on Saturday that Iran will never stop testing different defense and strategic systems which are aimed at boosting the country’s deterrence power.

“Iran will always continue testing different defense and strategic systems,” the Chief Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami said, adding that these measures are aimed at enhancing the country’s defense and deterrence power and will not be stopped.

He made the remarks on the sideline of a local event in Mashhad, northeast Iran.

Iran has recently made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing military equipment and hardware despite facing sanctions and Western economic pressure. The most recent unveiling came on Thursday as domestically made Bavar-373 air defense system came on stream. The Islamic Republic says its military power is solely for defensive purposes and does not pose any threat to other countries.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Salami said that security of the Persian Gulf is provided by Iranian Armed Forces and that enemies cannot undermine this security.

The remarks came as the United States has announced plans to form the coalition to supposedly protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz following a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the strait and the Sea of Oman. Washington has accused Iran of having a hand in those attacks, a claim Tehran has strongly rejected. Tehran has warned that such sabotage operations may be part of a general ploy to target Iran amid increasing regional tensions. The US has asked its allies to join the coalition, a call which has not been warmly received over fears that such a mission could lead to tensions with Iran.