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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Source: Reuters -
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Iran dismissed a US expansion of missile defence systems in the Gulf to counter what Washington sees as the Islamic Republic's growing missile threat, saying it had good relations with neighbouring states.
On Sunday, US officials said the United States had expanded land- and sea-based missile defence systems in and around the Gulf.
The deployments include expanded land-based Patriot defensive missile installations in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain, they said.
"We consider these kinds of moves by overseas countries in the region as unworkable and we have been witnessing the failure of such moves," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference.
"Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the other countries in the region are very good and friendly," he said. "An interactive attitude in the region is the only suitable approach towards making peace and stability."
On Monday, the US Defense Department said a US attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran had failed after a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co.
The unsuccessful $150 million test over the Pacific Ocean coincided with a Pentagon report that Iran had expanded its ballistic missile capabilities and posed a "significant" threat to US and allied forces in the Middle East region.
The US buildup began under the Bush administration, but has expanded under President Barack Obama, who is pushing for a new round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
Officials said the expansion was meant to increase protection for US forces and key allies in the Gulf.
Neither the United States nor Israel have ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row over Iran's nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.
Iran says its nuclear work is a peaceful drive for energy generation and has vowed to hit back if attacked. It says its missile programme is defensive in nature.
"It is interesting that they (the Americans) justify their move by saying the reason is the regional countries' concerns about Iran," parliament speaker Ali Larijani said, according to the website of state broadcaster IRIB.
"It is strange that the American officials do not notice that the problem in the region is your (US) presence and the more you deploy artillery (in this region), the more the host countries will be concerned," he told parliament.
