Tehran, February 05: A senior Iranian military official told Gulf states on Thursday not to squander money on US missiles, adding that Iran can render them useless, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Tehran had on Wednesday slammed plans by the United States to beef up its military in the Gulf.
“Installing anti-missile Patriot missiles is a new trick to empty the pockets of rich Persian Gulf countries,” said General Hassan Firuzabadi, the joint chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces.
“Patriot missiles can be rendered ineffective by simple tactics, and I advise the regional countries, especially Muslim states, not to waste their money on these missiles which have not worked anywhere,” he said.
US President Barack Obama’s administration is reportedly placing ships with missile-targeting capabilities off Iran’s coast, and anti-missile systems in at least four Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
US ally Bahrain acknowledged on Wednesday that Gulf military defences were being upgraded but urged Iran not to see them as plans for attack.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards official also said on Wednesday that Iran had developed anti-armor weapons which can combat US Apache helicopters and armored tanks.
“The enemy should not think their Apache helicopters can have the same power that they have in Iraq and Afghanistan in Iran,” Naser Arab-beigi, who heads the self-sufficiency organization of the Revolutionary Guards, told Fars news agency.
“We will end Apache power by our measures. Their armored tanks will be met with the firm response of our weapons,” he said.
—Agencies