US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jan 22) threatened that a US “armada” was heading towards the Gulf, adding that Washington was watching Iran closely despite Tehran’s suspension of planned executions of protesters amid its government’s crackdown. While Iran has warned that the country will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us”.
“This military buildup – we hope it is not intended for real confrontation – but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” said the Iranian official, Said an Iranian official to news agency Reuters on condition of anonymity.
“This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it – as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” the official further said.
Iran’s China-fuelled missiles a deterrent for US?
According to analysts and defence experts, Iran has reasonable defence capabilities, especially missile systems that to a large extent proved their worth in conflict with Israel. Of the hundreds of missiles launched at Israel in June, dozens penetrated its air defences called the Iron Dome, killing civilians.
And though Iran’s Medium-range missile systems were hit hard by Israel, its arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles – the weapons most capable of striking US and Gulf targets – did not face any major damage.
Now, Iran is even more focused on rebuilding its missile programme for which it is importing chemical precursors from China to produce solid-fuel propellants. Shipments of ammonium perchlorate reportedly imported from China to Iran last year to the port at Bandar Abbas could fuel hundreds of ballistic missiles.
Maritime intelligence tracking has identified a small fleet of cargo vessels repeatedly plying routes between China and Iran, according to The Telegraph.
The media outlet further said, “Satellite images suggest the Imam Khomeini Spaceport has been used for missile test launches, with a scorched launchpad indicating thermal exposure.”
Iran is also in talks with China to procure the HQ-9B long-range air defence missile system. Also it has rebuilt 16 of the 21 ballistic missile sites struck by Israel last June, reported The Telegraph.
