"Regional presence grants us strategic influence and greater national power," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told members of the Assembly of Experts, a body of Iran's most powerful clerics, constitutionally in charge of supervising his performance. 

"Why do we have to give up on [such activities]?" Khamenei asked rhetorically. He was addressing criticism both at home and abroad on the Islamic Republic's overseas activities, mainly in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the wider Middle East.

Western states see Iran's direct military presence or support for a vast network of armed proxies as destabilizing. At home also, opponents have questioned the costly missions while ordinary Iranians are struggling under economic strains stemming from domestic corruption and international sanctions.

"Backing off in the face of America or any other power to avoid sanctions is a serious mistake that deals a blow to political power," Khamenei declared. The 82-year-old cleric dismissed as "simple-minded naivete" arguments that Iran should try to avoid providing adversaries with a pretext for pressure.