KUWAIT CITY, Sept 28: Kuwait announced on Saturday that it was fully prepared to deter any missile attack should it be directed against it in case of the United States strikes on Iraq.

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah told journalists of the Kuwait government’s readiness to cope with the effects of possible American military strikes on Iraq.

“We are ready to face any threat, and we have the capacity to deter any missile attack directed against us,” Sabah said.

While considering the geographic location of his country, he said, Kuwait was not out of the zone of danger of a possible Iraqi aggression and the entire region would not be immune from the consequences of such a war. “It is normal that we consider the worst eventualities,” he added.

It was earlier reported that Kuwait had set up an early warning system to detect nuclear, biological and chemical arms to defend itself in case of US-Iraq conflict. Kuwait has also deployed number of Patriots missiles around its air bases and at major locations.

Meanwhile, an Arabic daily Al Anba has also reported that nine local firms have submitted applications to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to obtain approval for importing and distributing the masks.