Iran's New Destroyer Begins Gulf Patrol.

Iran's New Destroyer Begins Gulf Patrol. IRGC naval officer Fariborz Ghaderpanah was on Feb. 22 quoted assaying: The IRGC-developed destroyer Jamaran "is ready for anymission to protect national interests and protect the borders of thecountry, and the security of ships which pass through the Persian Gulfand the Hormuz Strait". This is Iran's first domestically-built guided-missiledestroyer, which began a mission patrolling the Gulf on Feb. 21. The1,400-ton destroyer's entry into service came after the New YorkTimes reported on Jan. 31 that President Barack Obama was acceleratingthe deployment of new US defences against possible Iranian missileattacks in the Gulf. The newspaper, citing US administration andmilitary officials, said Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain agreed tohost the anti-missile systems. Iran's state-run media have sought to underline thecountry's self-sufficiency in the face of international economicand technology sanctions with the launch of the Jamaran. The officialIran News Agency IRNA on Feb. 22 said: "Iranian experts" tookfull charge of the research, design and production of the ship. Iran issubject to three sets of UNSC sanctions for refusing to top uraniumenrichment.