Tehran, May 25: The deployment of US troops in the Middle East posed a critical threat to international peace, said Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The situation developing in Middle East, due to the sabre rattling of Washington, is "extremely dangerous", he added. Donald Trump Says, ‘US Will Send 1,500 More Troops to Middle East’

Zarif's warning comes a day after the United States announced the deployment of 1,500 additional troops in the Gulf to "mostly protect" its vital defence installations in the region.

The troop deployment order was validated by the claim that Iran was responsible for the "sabotage attack" on oil tankers earlier this month off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE.

"Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted," Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading home from a visit to Pakistan.

Washington says the reinforcements, which come after the deployment earlier this month of an aircraft carrier task force, B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a missile defence system, are in response to "campaign" of recent attacks approved by Iran's top leadership.

"Americans make such claims to justify their hostile policies and to create tension in the Persian Gulf," Zarif said.

The United States this month ended the last exemptions it had granted from sweeping unilateral sanctions it reimposed after abandoning a landmark 2015 nuclear between major powers and Iran in May last year.

The move dealt a heavy new blow to Iran's already reeling economy as even vocal critics of the renewed sanctions, like Turkey, announced they had stopped buying Iranian oil.

(With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 25, 2019 04:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).