Iran: US-Israeli Missile Shield in Persian Gulf Impairs Regional Security

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi warned on Wednesday that the US-Israeli project for deploying a missile shield in the Persian Gulf impairs security of the region, reiterating that the battery merely serves the security of the Zionist regime.

"The US-Israeli plans like the missile defense shield in the Persian Gulf impairs security of the region and is in line with establishing security of the Zionist regime," Vahidi said on Wednesday, addressing a number of commanders and forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Southern province of Hormozgan.  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week promoted the missile shield idea at a Persian Gulf-US security forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. US officials have said it is their "priority" to help the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) states build "regional missile defense architecture" against Iran.  Washington has been seeking hard to portray Iran as a threat to the regional states, specially the Arab countries on the rims of the Persian Gulf, but many Arab leaders in the region stress that they do not see Iran as a threat.  Vahidi underlined that security of the region should be established by the regional countries, and hailed the combat and operational preparedness of the IRGC Navy to defend the country against any aggressive moves by the enemies in the Persian Gulf.  "The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow the foreign forces to impair the Persian Gulf region's security and tranquility," the Iranian defense minister underscored.  Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.  According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.  The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets. (FNA)