Turkey plans to deploy radar station aimed at protecting NATO members from the threat of Iranian missiles.
Iran on Thursday warned Turkey that plans for a NATO radar station on its territory would cause tension, the ISNA news agency reported.
“We expect our friend and neighbor (Turkey) to be more careful and not prepare the ground for policies which would lead to tension and, beyond any doubt, to complicated consequences as well,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
The spokesman was referring to a Turkish agreement to deploy a missile defense system which is aimed at protecting NATO members from the threat of Iranian missiles.
“Strengthening NATO’s presence in this region itself would be counterproductive to both regional security and also that of Turkey,” Mehmanparast added.
Turkey, with NATO’s second biggest military, has a geo-strategic importance to the alliance dating back to its role as a front-line state in the Cold War era. But its value to NATO has risen as Middle East states with anti-Western policies, like Iran, have developed their missile capabilities.
