Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Monday about the growing ties between Iran and Venezuela and said the US is monitoring the burgeoning relationship, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Referring to criticism in Congress leveled at Venezuela recently because of its relationship with Iran, Mullen said, "I certainly share their concern in terms of Venezuela's links to Iran, which have been there for a significant amount of time and are growing."
Noting that the US has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terror, Mullen added, "we pay a lot of attention to what they're doing around the world." In his briefing with the foreign press, Mullen also pointed to US efforts to create a missile defense architecture in Eastern Europe to defend against Iranian capabilities, which he said Tehran has invested in increasing.
Earlier, mid-May, the Jerusalem Post referred to the German daily Die Welt saying Iran is building intermediate-range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm - Khatam al-Anbia - owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February.
Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard's Air Force, approved the visit, according to the report. Die Welt cited information from "Western security insiders."