Iran says Blinken's anti-Iran remarks aimed at selling U.S. weapons

TEHRAN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday rebuked the remarks by the U.S. secretary of state about Tehran's military program, saying they are aimed at marketing American weapons.

Nasser Kanaani made the response to a recent tweet by Antony Blinken, in which he said that they were "firmly committed to disrupting Iran's military procurement activities," according to a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

"The U.S. state secretary's provocative remarks about Iran's military program are solely aimed at continuing marketing American armaments through spreading Iranophobia as well as sowing discord among regional countries," Kanaani said.

He reiterated that Iran's military program is "defensive and deterrent" in nature and not against any country that does not harbor the idea of "aggression" against Iran.

Kanaani blamed the U.S. "unwise and erroneous" actions over the past decades as the sources of insecurity, instability and wars in the region, adding it will be in the U.S. interest if it stops its "wrong, meddlesome and irresponsible" approaches toward the regional countries.