Tuesday 29 November 2016

Top Iranian general: Iran may seek naval bases in Yemen or Syria

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran may seek to set up naval bases in Yemen or Syria in the future, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces said in remarks published on Sunday.

His comments, likely to be of concern to Shi'ite Iran's Sunni regional rival Saudi Arabia and its allies, raised the prospect of distant footholds perhaps being more valuable militarily to Tehran than nuclear technology.

"We need distant bases, and it may become possible one day to have bases on the shores of Yemen or Syria, or bases on islands or floating (bases)," said General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, quoted by the Shargh daily newspaper.

"Is having distant bases less than nuclear technology? I say it is worth dozens of times more," added Baqeri, who was speaking at a gathering of naval commanders.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are on opposite sides in Middle East conflicts, with the Iranians a main ally of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war and of the armed Houthi movement fighting a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen.

In a rare rebuke for Iran, a Houthi official on Sunday criticized Baqeri's comments and urged Tehran to read about the history of failed attempts to occupy Yemen.

"Not one inch of Yemen's land or waters will be forfeited to any foreign party ... whether a friend or an enemy," said Saleh al-Samad, the Houthis' political council chief in a statement on Facebook.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Andrew Bolton)

###

http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-seek-naval-bases-yemen-syria-2016-11




© copyright 2004 - 2024 IranPressNews.com All Rights Reserved

Cookies on IranPressNews website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. This includes cookies from Google and third party social media websites if you visit a page which contains embedded content from social media. Such third party cookies may track your use of our website. We and our partners also use cookies to ensure we show you advertising that is relevant to you. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on our website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time.