LONDON: Iran is close to a deal with China to purchase supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, as the US deploys a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes.

The CM-302 ​missiles have a range of about 290 kilometers and are designed to evade shipborne defences by flying low and fast. Their deployment would significantly enhance Iran’s strike capabilities and pose a threat to US naval forces in the region, two weapons experts said.

“It’s a complete gamechanger if Iran has supersonic capability to attack ships in the area,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and now senior ‌Iran researcher at the Institute ‌for National Security Studies, a think tank in Israel. “These missiles are very difficult to intercept.”

It is not known how many missiles ​are ‌involved in ⁠the potential ​deal, ⁠how much Iran has agreed to pay, or whether China would go through with the agreement given heightened tensions in the region.

“Iran has military and security agreements with its allies, and now is an appropriate time to make use of these agreements,” an Iranian foreign ministry official said.

Meanwhile the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on the Mediterranean island of Crete en route to the Middle East.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the region: the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers and three combat ships.