New additions to Iran's armed forces matter of concern: US

WASHINGTON: Expressing concern over the series of recent additions to Iran's military arsenal, including the aerial drone and assault boats, the US has cautioned Tehran that it might find itself "less secure" than ever if it continues on this path.

"This is something that is of concern to us and concern to Iran'sneighbours. On the one hand, every country is sovereign and has theright to provide for its own self-defense, but obviously, we take intoaccount systems that can potentially threaten particular countries orpeace and stability in the region more broadly," state departmentspokesman P J Crowley said.

"But in the face of growth of Iran's capabilities over a number ofyears, we've stepped up our military cooperation with other countriesin the region, and this is one of the reasons why we believe that ifIran continues on the path that it's on, it might actually find itselfless secure because you'll have countries in the region that havejoined together to offset Iran's growing capabilities," he said.

Noting that there's no particular logic to the path that Iran is on,Crowley said its nuclear ambitions, the US believes, will actually makeIran less secure in the long run.

"We're still open toconstructive dialogue with Iran to try to clarify the questions that wehave and the international community has about the true nature of itsnuclear programs. But in the meantime, we will work with othercountries to try to do everything that we can to maintain peace andstability in the region," Crowley said.