Larijani Warned Turkish Officials About Possible Deployment of NATO Missile Shield in Turkey

Iran said possible deployment of NATO’s Patriot missile systems in Turkey will be counterproductive and complicate the existing problems in the region.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told reporters on Saturday that during his recent visit to Turkey, he has conveyed Iran’s reservations about the possible deployment of surface-to-air Patriot missiles along Turkey’s border with Syria.

“In meetings with Turkey’s top officials, we warned that the deployment of such systems will have adverse consequences and will exacerbate problems in the region,” Larijani told reporters upon his arrival in Tehran from a regional tour on Saturday.

Larijani said that during his visits to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, he held talks with the senior officials of the three countries on the ways to expand relations as well as about the major developments in the region.

He added that Tehran, Damascus, Beirut and Ankara came closer to a common stance on leading regional issues, including the Syrian unrest.

Regional security officials should hold regular meetings to find a solution to the unrest in Syria at the earliest, Larijani noted.

Turkey has officially made its request to NATO for the deployment of Patriot systems along its border with Syria, claiming that the deployment would only be defensive and that it would not “support a no-fly zone or any offensive operation” in Syria.