Iran urges better Gulf ties; launches new armed sub
DUBAI: Iran is ready to work with all of its neighbors to secure peace in the Middle East in the face of US and Israeli aggression, President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday, in his latest attempt to weaken ties between regional rival Saudi Arabia and America. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been fighting proxy wars for years, backing opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen. But pressure is building on Tehran after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed sanctions. Saudi Arabia welcomed the move.
“Iran is ready to work with regional states to preserve security in the Middle East,” Rouhani said in a public speech in the southern Hormozgan province, broadcast live on state TV. “We want to establish brotherly ties with all countries of the region ... Iran has never started any aggression in the region.
Those regional states that believe Israel and America can establish security are wrong. We, the Muslims, should ensure the regional security,” Rouhani said, to chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
Rouhani’s previous overtures to Saudi Arabia, such as after his election in 2013 and efforts by his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2017, have had no success, and some analysts were skeptical his latest attempt would be different. “Considering the ongoing hostility, there is no possibility of a dialogue between the archenemies,” said Tehran-based analyst Hamid Farahvashian.
Iran accuses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of supporting militant Sunni groups that carry out attacks against Iranian forces, including a suicide bombing on Wednesday in Iran’s southeastern province that borders Pakistan. Sunni group Jaish al Adl (Army of Justice), which says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for the ethnic minority Baluchis, claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 27 members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The Revolutionary Guards have threatened Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan with retaliation. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan deny backing the militants. Iran’s foreign ministry yesterday summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to protest about Wednesday’s attack.
Also yesterday, Iran launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country’s latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US. The launch ceremony, led by Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. “Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea,” Rouhani said. “Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country,” he added.
Named the Fateh (Farsi for ‘Conqueror’), Fars news agency said the new submarine is Iran’s first in the semi-heavy category, filling a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo class submarines that the country possesses. Fars said the near 600-tonne underwater vessel is equipped with torpedoes and naval mines in addition to cruise missiles, and can operate more than 200 m below sea level for up to 35 days.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Feb 7 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km, according to the elite unit’s official media agency Sepah News. The surface-to-surface missile - called Dezful - is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 km, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said.
Rouhani said yesterday that “pressure by enemies, the (Iran-Iraq) war and sanctions” were incentives for Tehran to be self-reliant in its defense industry. “Maybe we would not have this motivation to industrialize our defense sector,” he said, if Iran could just buy the weaponry it needed. Iran’s top military brass and cabinet ministers attended the ceremony. — Agencies