Azerbaijan: U.S. Financing Radar Station Near Iranian Border Say Reports

Adnkronos International: The Raw Story

The Iranian media has reported a decision by the United States to finance radar stations in the central Asian republic of Azerbaijan, that the government in Tehran says are part of a military strategy by Washington to encircle the Islamic Republic. One of the stations is reported to be 20 kilometres from the Iranian town of Astara, while another is situated in Khizi, 50 kilometres from the border with Russia.

The construction of the two stations is part of the Caspian Guard Initiative, an American project which aims to guarantee the security of the 3.6 billion dollar, 1,600 kilometre-long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that runs from Baku in Azerbaijan to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan.

According to the US embassy officials in the Azerbaijan capital Azera, the Caspian Guard Initiative will cost about 135 million US dollars.

The government in Tehran considers the project a cover for a larger project that will target the Iran militarily. It would also include other initiatives such as an air base that the Americans are constructing near Herat in Afghanistan, a naval base in Bahrain and various military structures in the south and north of Iraq.