Iranian media today accused Qatar of declaring war against Tehran by allowing the United States to deploy a sophisticated radar over its territories capable of deactivating or limiting the capabilities of the Iranian missile system.

The Iranian official Fars news agency and other media outlets cited the US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter who announced on 10 December that Doha had agreed to deploy long-range early warning radar to counter Iranian missiles over its territories.

“Just this week, we reached an agreement for Qatar to purchase a 5,000 kilometre [range] early warning radar to enhance its missile defences,” Carter said.

“The progress we’ve made in improving ballistic missile defence is also important as Iran continues to test and field such missiles in defiance of the UN Security Council,” Carter said, adding: “That’s why we are working together to develop a blueprint for a regional ballistic missile defence architecture that would help integrate capabilities across the region, from the Patriot batteries deployed in several countries, to the Terminal High-Altitude Air Defence [THAAD] system in the UAE, to Qatar’s future early warning radar, and to more systems yet to come.”

Lockheed Martin had been awarded contracts to produce PAC-3 missiles for Qatar’s Patriot systems for $1.1 billion.

Source: middleeastmonitor.com