TEHRAN - Head of the Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on Saturday criticized the government for reducing the defense budget for the next year. 

"We are witnessing a reduction of the defense budget in the next year budget bill," Mojtaba Zolnour said.

The Iranian fiscal year begins on March 20, 2020.

Zolnour said, "In some cases, the budget of defense sectors has not increased in comparison with the previous years.”

He said in view of the existing inflation and price rises, management of the affairs in the defense sector will be difficult.

"Defense is the most important pillar of the country, so we must not permit anything to weaken the defense sector," Zolnour underlined. 

On December 8, President Hassan Rouhani submitted the administration’s draft of the national budget bill for the next calendar year 1399, to the Majlis.

The proposed budget amounted to about 1.988 quadrillion rials (about $473.5 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials), with a 14-percent rise from the current year’s approved budget.