US boosts missile presence in Gulf as warning to Iran

The Obama administration is intensifying pressure on Iran by increasing its missile defenses in the Middle East to defend against potential missile strikes in the region by Tehran, it emerged today. The US military has boosted the capability of land-based Patriot defensive missiles in several Arab nations in the Gulf, and one official told the Associated Press the navy was also increasing the presence of ships capable of knocking out hostile missiles in flight. The move–reported in several US newspapers this morning–appears to be a deliberate attempt by the White House to ratchet up pressure on Iran ahead of attempts to increase sanctions against the country. The US is reappraising its Iran policy after months of unsuccessful diplomatic moves, and is attempting to win broad international consensus for sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, believed to control a covert nuclear arms programme, the New York Times reported.