Plan to deploy Patriots along Turkey-Syria border should be abandoned: Iranian general

TEHRAN,Dec.17(MNA) – The chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces said on Saturday that the plan for the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles along Turkey’s border with Syria should be abandoned. According to Reuters, Ankara asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, in November to help bolster its border security given the fact that the conflict in Syria has spilled across the border into Turkey. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order on Friday to send two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey along with U.S. personnel to operate them, following similar steps by Germany and the Netherlands. Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said, “We are a friend of Syria and want security for Turkey and not attacks from Syria on Turkey… but we see that the Patriots are a line of defense for the Zionists (and a sign of) worry about Iranian missiles and the presence of Russia to defend Syria. “It is very worrisome. Each one of these Patriots is a black mark on the world map and is meant to cause a world war. And unfortunately, everyday, a Western country approves the deployment of Patriots along the Syrian-Turkish border. They are actually planning a world war, and this is very dangerous for the future of humanity and for the future of Europe itself. “The Patriots will not create security, but rather they will constitute threats. An experienced military man and a strategist can easily figure out the scenario and predict such a painful future. The intelligentsia and intellectuals in Europe, the United States, and Turkey should extinguish this fire themselves before another fire breaks out, which no one will be able to put out.”