Azerbaijan, Baku, April 6 / Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/
Iran strongly opposes a U.S.-backed plan to build a missile defense shield within the Gulf States, Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, Fars reported.
"This system is a plan of the U.S. and Israel, and anyone who supports the plan, is implementing the U.S. and Israel's plot," Vahidi noted.
Vahidi sharply criticized the U.S.-backed missile defense project, saying that it was "against regional security."
Washington is seeking to expand its missile defense shield within the Gulf States. U.S. Patriot missiles are already deployed in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The West accuses Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program but Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely to generate electricity.
The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday at the Persian Gulf-U.S. security forum in Riyadh announced the idea of a missile defense shield in the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.