Iran warns of "Middle Eastern NATO", vows to defend regional interests

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Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Tuesday morning that the expansion of NATO towards the east and its neglect of geopolitical consequences has caused the war to erupt in Ukraine, pointing out that this scenario is now being repeated in the Middle East.

During a public address issued before the Parliament of Iran, he said that "the US and the Gulf region are making the same mistakes that led to the crisis in Ukraine." Qalibaf added: "I am not optimistic that the US government is able to make the right decisions at this point, as it has demonstrated minimal rationality in the nuclear negotiations."

"The Zionist entity is standing at the bottom of the well and urging the US and the rest of the countries to fall, and this is the reality of the Abraham accords." He stressed that Iran "will not hesitate to defend its regional interests to face any conspiracies aimed at destabilizing it."

A few days prior to this statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that "the plans of the US and Israel to conclude a joint military agreement with Arab countries will only increase tension in the region," stressing that "this issue is provocative, and Iran views these statements as a threat to its national security and the security of the region."

The political deputy to the chief commander of the Iranian armed forces General Rasoul Sanai-Rad, said that "the response to any threat will be proportionate to the type and level of the threat," adding that "there are no restrictions on the Iranian response to the usurping Zionist entity."

Israeli media earlier reported that its security and military institutions intend to request the US President to "strengthen the formation of regional air defense systems" against Iran. 

The Israeli media expects "Tel Aviv" to push for a security deal with Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, through the sale of air defense systems.