Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Wikipedia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered his Defense Ministry to “enhance and accelerate” the development of the country’s missile program, in response to new US-imposed sanctions, semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Thursday.

Rouhani called the latest sanctions “hostile policies and illegal and illegitimate meddling against Iran’s right to develop its defensive power.” In a written order to Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan, the president said, “The program for the production of the Armed Forces’ needed missiles is required to continue more speedily and seriously.”

Rouhani’s decree also included a widening of the scope of missile production.

Reiterating Iran’s official position throughout negotiations with world powers that culminated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, he said the Islamic Republic “would never negotiate with anyone about its defensive power, including the missile program, and would never accept any restriction in this field.”