Iran's army chief has vowed to boost the country's controversial ballistic-missile program despite facing new international sanctions.
"Iran's missile capability and its missile program will become stronger," Ataollah Salehi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency on February 4.
Salehi said Tehran's missile program was not a "violation of the nuclear deal," which curbed Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Despite last month's easing of nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, the United States has imposed new sanctions on Tehran over its missile program.
The new sanctions in January came in response to Iranian ballistic-missile tests in October and November that United Nations experts determined were in violation of a 2010 UN Security Council resolution banning Iran from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons.