Iran said on Sunday that it had built “suicide drones” capable of attacking United States naval ships and forcing them to leave Gulf waters, a day after international media reported that Washington had begun preparing for an air attack on Iranian nuclear sites. The semi-official news agency Mehr quoted deputy commander of the Guards’ land forces, Ali Shoushtari, as saying: “We have built birds without passengers (drones) that can carry out suicide operations on the US Navy, at any depth if necessary, to make them leave the region in disgrace.” Warning of a “defeat for the enemy”, he went on to say that “Americans know that if they confront the Islamic system, they will not be secure in the region or at home”. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had on Thursday vowed to hit back at US interests worldwide if Washington attacked the Islamic republic.