Ministry of Defense spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan (Source: Photolure)

YEREVAN—Azerbaijan does not have any weapons or missiles that can down the sophisticated Iskander missile system, acquired last year by Armenia, the country’s defense ministry spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan told Panorama.am in an interview.

Hovhannisyan’s comments come days after Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov told RIA Novosti that Baku possesses high grade missiles that can easily down the Iskander missile system.

“Zakir Hasanov stands out with his low level of knowledge, which is at a lower level than the one of a platoon commander. He has shown it on multiple occasions. To put it mildly, it is impossible to shoot down Iskander missiles by any system in Azerbaijan,” said Hovhannisyan.

“That country’s arsenal features Israeli Barak 8 missile system, which they have put on display. The claims also referred to the purchase of a weaker Iron Dome Weapon System. None of these systems is capable of downing the Iskander Missile,” the spokesman noted, adding that the U.S. Army officers having the most powerful missile defense systems like Standard, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot, which cannot confidently claim to have the strength to down the Iskander missiles even after those weapons undergo multiple modifications.

“They (the U.S. military) openly pointed out the great danger and invulnerability of this weapon, however Zakir Hasanov has already overcome that weapon. On the other hand, there is nothing surprising when this is stated by a person with a very low level of professional knowledge and known for his empty statements,” adde Hovhannisyan.

President Serzh Sarkisian, during an interview with the R-Evolution program on Armenia TV also discussed the inviolability of the Iskander missile system, saying that whoever is making claims does not understand the capabilities of the missile system.

“When they know, they will understand the extent of devastating force it has,” said Sarkisian.