The United States' deployment of a new missile shield against Iran in four Persian Gulf countries was a "puppet show," Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday, DPA reported.
"This is a puppet show and the US claim of creating security for the region just another political swindle," official news agency IRNA quoted the speaker as saying.
The New York Times reported Saturday that the US was speeding up its deployment of a new missile shield against Iran in four nations of the region.
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait have reportedly accepted the stationing of US Patriot missiles, the Times reported, quoting unnamed administration and military officials. Oman reportedly declined the request.
"The US should understand that the main (security) problem in the region is the US itself and the more warfare they bring to the region, the more tension they cause," Larijani said.
He said that Iran has not threatened any country in the region during the last 31 years, and the only conflict was the war started by Iraq under Saddam Hussein from 1980-88, when he was supported by the US government.
"The regional countries should know that this US move is a political swindle aimed at justifying its presence in the region at regional cost," the speaker added.
