Patriot missiles would be detrimental to Turkey: Iranian defense minister

TEHRAN,Dec.23(MNA) – Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the plan for the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles along Turkey’s border with Syria would harm Turkey’s interests. According to Reuters, Ankara asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, in November to help bolster its border security given the fact that the conflict in Syria has spilled across the border into Turkey. NATO approved Turkey’s request for the air defense system in December. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order on December 14 to send two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey along with U.S. personnel to operate them, following similar steps by Germany and the Netherlands. “The deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey plays no role in providing Turkey with security and will be detrimental to the country of Turkey,” Vahidi said on Saturday. “The presence of Western forces in Muslim countries has always caused problems and disagreements between Muslim countries,” he said. “The West has always been pursuing its views and interests, and we are opposed to the involvement of Western countries in regional interactions,” he added. Commenting on the news reports claiming that Iran is training Syrian military forces, Vahidi said, “Syria has no need for the training of its forces by the Islamic Republic of Iran because Syria has a powerful army, which has prepared itself for a confrontation with the Zionist regime.” The chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces said on December 15 that the installation of Patriot missiles in Turkey should be abandoned. Major General Hassan Firouzabadi also said, “We are a friend of Syria and want security for Turkey and not attacks from Syria on Turkey… but we see that the Patriots are a line of defense for the Zionists (and a sign of) worry about Iranian missiles.” He also said, “Each one of these Patriots is a black mark on the world map and is meant to cause a world war.”