There has been a flurry of statements and possible movement of warships in the direction of Red Sea following the imposition of a fourth round of sanctions on Iran.
Iran's Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi has denied the assertion by Robert Gates, U.S. Defence Secretary, that Iran had the capacity to launch “scores even hundreds of missiles” into Europe.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran's missile capability has been designed and created for defending the country against military aggressions and not threatening any other country,” said General Vahidi. He added that by launching a propaganda campaign against Iran, the U.S. hoped to expand its dominance over Europe, and find an excuse to avoid the dismantlement of nuclear arms stationed in the continent. Washington also hoped to impose “pressure” on Russia, he said.
On Thursday, Mr. Gates had told a U.S. Senate committee that “if Iran were actually to launch a missile attack on Europe, it wouldn't be just one or two missiles, or a handful, it would more likely be a salvo kind of attack, where you would be dealing potentially with scores or even hundreds of missiles.”
Coinciding with these statements, Iran's Press TV has been running a report that “an armada of more than twelve U.S. and Israeli warships has passed through the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea and is reportedly heading to the Persian Gulf.” The network quoted Jeff Steinberg of the Washington-based Executive Intelligence Review confirming an Israeli media report that the American aircraft carrier Harry Truman had crossed the Suez canal.
