TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian navy commander said 41 U.S. and British warships had arrived in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman and Iran was watching closely for any sign of an attack on Afghanistan, the official IRNA news agency said Sunday.Admiral Hamid Valamanesh, whose country has campaigned against any U.S. military retaliation against Afghanistan for attacks on New York and Washington, said his forces were watching the U.S. and British ships ``day and night.''
He said 21 of the ships were moored near the strategic Hormuz Strait, while the rest were in the Gulf of Oman, 45 miles away from Chah Bahar. (Read photo caption below)
``The Islamic republic is observing their activities day and night,'' the admiral said, adding that there were also two aircraft carriers belonging to Pakistan.
President Bush has told Afghanistan's Taliban leaders they must hand over their ``guest'' Osama bin Laden.
Bush has vowed to go after bin Laden and Washington has sent military reinforcements to the Gulf but U.S. officials have declined to give updated figures on military deployments or outline their future plans.
Britain has said it has sent warships to Oman for bilateral exercises dubbed ``Operation Swift Sword'' unrelated to the U.S. build-up. British media have speculated they could be diverted or redeployed for possible military action against bin Laden.
Iran is opposed to any U.S. strike and has called for a U.N.-led international coalition to fight terrorism.
Iran's Defense Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani said Sunday his country would not provide any logistic help to the United States for attacks on Afghanistan.
PHOTO CAPTION:
An Iranian navy commander said 41 U.S. and British warships had arrived in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman and Iran was watching closely for any sign of an attack on Afghanistan, the official IRNA news agency said September 30, 2001. Members of 23 Pioneer Regiment carrying out foot patrols around the Camp South area in Oman, Sept. 27. The regiment is a part of Exercise Saif Sareea 2, a bi-lateral military exercise in Oman involving more than 20,000 troops from the UK and Germany training alongside Omani forces. (Pete Bristo/Ministry of Defense via Reuters)