Iran keeps watchful eye on PG skies

An army commander says Iran has taken measures to strengthen the country’s passive air defense systems, especially in the Persian Gulf region.

“One passive air defense system, which has attracted substantial investments, is a reconnaissance terminal … [through this system] we have been able to use the data effectively,” Fars quoted General Habibollah Alizadeh as saying Monday.

The defense system is used across the country, backed by seaborne surveillance radars, added the commander, who is in charge of passive air defense in southeastern Iran.

“Passive air defense systems are now entirely home-manufactured and we have completely cut our dependence on outside material and no longer do we rely on any foreign countries,” Alizadeh said.

He stressed that aside from the protecting the country’s southern borders and territorial waters, these domestic radars also cover all the Persian Gulf states.

The Iranian navy conducted an eight-day military drill, Velayat 89, in early May. Backed by the Air Force and the Army, the maneuver stretched from the Strait of Hormuz to the north of the Indian Ocean.

The drills came after the US controversially removed the name of Iran — a country without nuclear warheads — from its annual list of similar country’s that Washington pledges not to attack with atomic weapons.

Earlier this month, US defense sources speaking on condition of anonymity told The Times of London that Israel has been given over-flight clearance by Saudi Arabia and is permitted to use the country’s northern airspace in the event of an attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

For years, Israel has threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear installations. Tel Aviv has recently stepped up efforts to set the stage for an attack on Iran.