Iran hardliners accuse Rouhani of halting missile test

Iranian Navy boats take part in maneuvers during the "Velayat-90" navy exercises in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on January 3, 2012, the end day of ten-day war games. Ebrahim Noroozi/AFP PhotoShow less

Tehran // Hardline Iranian politicians accused their moderate president of halting a missile exercise yesterday, a day after the navy said it sent warships to the Atlatic.

The state news agency reported that 24 members of parliament said the Supreme National Security Council, headed by Hassan Rouhani, the president, stopped the annual test and did not approve its budget.

The MPs also accused the foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of preventing foreign experts to assist Iran with its missile technology, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Western officials in the past have accused Iran of obtaining missile technology from North Korea.

Iran denies the charge.

Hardliners are at odds with Mr Rouhani and Mr Zarif over their policy of outreach to the West. Iran struck a deal with the US and five other world powers over its nuclear programme in November. The deal requires Tehran to take six practical steps to scale-back its programme.

In return, Tehran would receive relief from international sanctions that have crippled its economy.

Since the deal was struck, the Rouhani administration has been on a charm offensive, sending Mr Zarif on a tour of the Arabian Gulf in an attempt ease worries over the nuclear deal.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the true power in the Islamic Republic, renewed his confidence in Mr Rouhani on Saturday, demanding tolerance from opponents who have criticised him over talks with world powers on Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme.

Despite the recent conciliatory overtures, the Iranian navy said on Saturday that a number of warships had been ordered to approach US maritime borders as a response to the stationing of US vessels in the Gulf, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

“Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message,” Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad said.

Adm Haddad, described as commander of the navy’s northern fleet, said the vessels had started their voyage towards the Atlantic via “waters near South Africa”.

Fars reported the plan was part of “Iran’s response to Washington’s beefed up naval presence” in the Gulf.

The Fars report, which carried no details of the vessels, could not be confirmed independently.

In Washington, a US defence official, cast doubt on any claims that the Iranian ships were approaching US maritime borders. But the official added that “ships are free to operate in international waters”.

The US and its allies regularly stage naval exercises in the Gulf, saying they want to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which 40 per cent of the world’s seaborne oil exports passes.

US military facilities in the region include a base for its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

Iran sees the Gulf as its own backyard and believes it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence there.

Iranian officials have often said Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz if it came under attack over its nuclear programme, and the Western war games are seen in the region as an attempt to deter any such move.

Fars said the Iranian navy had been developing its presence in international waters since 2010, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.

* Reporting by Associated Press and Reuters