IRAN SAYS - 42 US, British warships in Gulf, Oman Sea

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Sunday September 30 12:28 PM ET

Iran Says 41 U.S., British Warships in Gulf, Oman Sea

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian navy commander said 41 U.S. and British warships had arrived in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman and Iran was watching closely for any sign of an attack on Afghanistan, the official IRNA news agency said Sunday.

Admiral Hamid Valamanesh, whose country has campaigned against any U.S. military retaliation against Afghanistan for attacks on New York and Washington, said his forces were watching the U.S. and British ships ``day and night.''

``Forty-one U.S. and British warships have arrived in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman ready to be called into action at a moment's notice,'' said the admiral, who is based in the Oman port of Chah Bahar, in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

He said 21 of the ships were moored near the strategic Hormuz Strait, while the rest were in the Gulf of Oman, 45 miles away from Chah Bahar.

``The Islamic republic is observing their activities day and night,'' the admiral said, adding that there were also two aircraft carriers belonging to Pakistan.

President Bush has told Afghanistan's Taliban leaders they must hand over their ``guest'' Osama bin Laden, a Saudi-born militant implicated in the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Bush has vowed to go after bin Laden and Washington has sent military reinforcements to the Gulf but U.S. officials have declined to give updated figures on military deployments or outline their future plans.

Britain has said it has sent warships to Oman for bilateral exercises dubbed ``Operation Swift Sword'' unrelated to the U.S. build-up. British media have speculated they could be diverted or redeployed for possible military action against bin Laden.

Iran is opposed to any U.S. strike and has called for a U.N.-led international coalition to fight terrorism.

Iran's Defense Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani said Sunday his country would not provide any logistic help to the United States for attacks on Afghanistan.

``The Islamic republic will provide no facilities -- whether air bases, or airspace and so forth -- to America for military operations,'' he said, quoted by IRNA. ``Our armed forces are watching military movements in the region, fully alert.''

Shamkhani said the United States was using the attacks as a pretext to try to expand its influence in Central Asia and the Caucauses.

``The expansion of the American forces and their enduring presence in the region will lead to unpredictable adverse effects,'' he warned.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2001


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