Persian Gulf missile shield plan, US-Israeli conspiracy: Vahidi

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has advised Persian Gulf littoral states against deploying a missile shield system as it is a “US-Israeli project.”

“This missile shield system is an American-Israeli project,” Vahidi said on Wednesday, adding that anyone who joins the plan would be acting according to Washington and Tel Aviv’s schemes.

“We rejected the project from the start and consider it contrary to the region’s security and advised our friends not to joint it,” the Iranian defense minister added.

US officials have frequently said it is a US “priority” to help Persian Gulf littoral states build ”regional missile defense architecture” against what they see as a looming ballistic missile threat from Iran.

Addressing the first multilateral [Persian] Gulf-US security forum in Saudi Arabia on March 31, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proposed improved collaboration with Persian Gulf Arab states on maritime security and missile defense to counter what she called “potential threats” from Iran.

She also underlined Washington’s “rock solid and unwavering” commitment to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, all longstanding US allies.

The United States is already planning to sell defensive missile technology to the UAE.