[caption id="attachment_152348" align="alignright" width="179"] Lieutenant Commander of Imam Hossein (AS) Military University Brigadier General Hamid Abazari[/caption]
Iran could become on of three leading countries by 2025, according to a senior military official.
Despite sanctions and decelerating global growth, Iran is rapidly developing and will be one ofthe leading nations inthe world ina decade, a senior military official said.
Brigadier General Hamid Abazari, Lieutenant Commander ofImam Hossein (AS) Military University, was quoted bythe Fars News Agency assaying that "Iran will rise asone ofthe three powerful countries ofthe world in2025."
Iran's high-ranking officials have repeatedly said that world powers imposed sanctions onIran tohinder its progress. Western countries insist that several rounds ofsanctions were introduced toprevent Iran fromdeveloping nuclear weapons. Iran has always said that its nuclear program is peaceful.
In a public speech inTehran earlier this week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "The enemy is using the lever ofsanctions tothe hilt and their goal is tostop our people's progress."