Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Tehran's help, responding to criticism of the Islamic Republic from U.S. President Donald Trump who is visiting the region.
Rouhani, a pragmatist who won a new fresh mandate in a May 19 presidential election, also dismissed a summit Trump attended at the weekend in Saudi Arabia as a "ceremonial (event) that had no political value and will bear no results".
"Who can say regional stability can be restored without Iran? Who can say the region will experience total stability without Iran?" Rouhani said.
President Rouhani said Tehran would continue its ballistic missile programme, state television reported, striking a defiant note after strong criticism of the Islamic Republic from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"The Iranian nation has decided to be powerful. Our missiles are for peace and for defence ... American officials should know that whenever we need to technically test a missile, we will do so and will not wait for their permission," Rouhani said in a news conference, broadcast live on state TV.
Rouhani also criticised Iran's arch-foe Saudi Arabia over its lack of democracy, urging Riyadh to allow its people to decide their country's fate through free elections.
