He went on to note that Iran is currently self-sufficient in producing military hardware.
The Fars News Agency reported on May 12 that the Iranian parliament (Majlis) approved the allocation of $5 billion to the national defense budget.
The allocated budget is close to last year`s defense budget.
Iran`s defense budget was increased 127 percent to around $5 billion during the last solar year, which started on March 19, 2012.
In April, Iranian Deputy Army Commander Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari said the army will unveil new pieces of military hardware in a service exercise which will be held soon.
Several domestically manufactured personnel carriers, anti-aircraft weapons and a missile launcher will be unveiled during the war games, he said.
On May 10, Iran unveiled a new domestically manufactured stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), named the Hamaseh.
The capability to fly at higher altitudes for a longer range distinguishes the Hamaseh from other Iranian-made drones.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that the UAV was capable of conducting surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions simultaneously.
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