TEHRAN – Iran’s navy has mounted a locally built advanced defensive weaponssystem on one of its warships for the first time, the Iranian navy chiefwas quoted as saying on Saturday, as tensions mount with the US military inthe Gulf.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed earlier this month it held war gamesin the Gulf, saying they were aimed at “confronting possible threats” byenemies.
The US military’s Central Command confirmed it had seen increased Iraniannaval activity, extending to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway foroil shipments the Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block.
Iran has been furious over US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull outof an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and re-imposesanctions on Tehran.
Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi “reiterated thatcoastal and sea testing of the short range defense Kamand system wereconcluded successfully, and said this system was mounted on a warship andwill be mounted on a second ship soon,” the semi-official Tasnim newsagency reported,