TEHRAN, Iran — A top Iranian military commander warned Turkey yesterday against stationing NATO anti-missile systems on its territory, saying such a move risks conflict with Syria.
The remarks by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi came the day after the Pentagon announced it will send two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey.
The missile deployment is part of a larger NATO force to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attacks.
“Patriot missiles are a defense line for the Zionists and a result of [the West’s] concerns over Iran’s missiles and Russia’s presence to defend Syria,” Firouzabadi said.
“Western countries approve the deployment of Patriots on the Syria-Turkey border as they design a world war.”
A number of Syrian shells have landed in Turkish territory since the conflict in the Arab state began in March 2011. Turkey has condemned Assad’s regime, supported Syrian rebels and provided shelter to Syrian refugees.
In addition to the American Patriot deployment, Germany and the Netherlands also agreed to provide two batteries of the US-built defense systems and send up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them, bringing the total number of Patriot batteries slated for Turkey to six.