TEHRAN - Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on Wednesday shrugged off the US delivery of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defense system to Israel as part of the "enemy's psychological warfare".
He made the remarks in an address to reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
"The THAAD is an anti-ballistic missile system. It is not a new thing and has existed before. We assess such actions as being in line with the enemy's psychological warfare. There is no particular problem in that regard," he said.
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The United States announced on Sunday that it would send its THAAD system to Israel with soldiers to operate it.
The decision comes as Israel has, over the past few days, threatened to take military action against Iran in response to Tehran's missile strikes on Israel earlier this month.
On Oct 1, Iran fired approximately 180 missiles at Israeli targets. Tehran described the strikes as retaliation for the assassinations of several leaders of the regional resistance groups and Israel's military actions against Lebanese and Palestinian armed groups.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran had made a "grave mistake" and vowed retaliation.
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Also on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said exchanged views in a phone call on the ongoing Israeli "crimes" in Gaza and Lebanon, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office.
The Iranian president praised Oman for its principled positions on Israeli "crimes" in Gaza and Lebanon, calling for increased pressure on Israel's supporters to stop its "massacre machine and crimes".
He highlighted the necessity to strengthen unity and fraternity among regional Muslim states at the "current important juncture", noting that greater unity among Muslim states would deter Israel from easily perpetrating "crimes" with the support of the United States and some European countries.
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The Omani sultan lauded and supported Iran's principled stances on regional issues, including the situation in Gaza and Lebanon, calling on certain Western states to refrain from resorting to double standards when dealing with issues in West Asia.
He said supporting the rights of the "oppressed people" of Gaza and Lebanon is among his country's priorities and concerns, noting that Oman had always maintained that the continued support of Israeli "crimes" by Western states is neither acceptable nor justifiable.
