Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has boldly declared that without its defensive missiles, Iran would surely have suffered a devastating and pitiful fate similar to that of the Gaza Strip. He firmly emphasized that Iran's ballistic missile program is absolute and cannot be negotiated or bartered away with anyone, under any circumstances whatsoever.
According to a report by the AFP news agency, this heavy remarks were made during his official visit on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, to Pakistan—a key mediator in negotiations between Tehran and Washington aimed at finding a peace deal to end the war in the Middle East. The Iranian president added that without these missiles, superpowers like the United States and Israel would surely invade and brutally destroy Iranian territory, sparing neither the elderly nor young children.