Iranian Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi declared on Saturday that the presence of NATO anti-missile assets in Turkey was “very dangerous for the future of mankind,” particularly singling out Europe as threatened. A planned visit to Turkey by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was subsequently canceled, and increasingly pitched tensions between Tehran and Ankara have deepened fears that the Syrian war could spiral into a regional conflict. The deployment, which involves two Patriot batteries and 400 U.S. troops, comes in the aftermath of Turkey demanding NATO assistance as Ankara backs rebel forces in the three-way proxy war raging inside Syria. The conflict has pitted the Sunni-backed opposition against the Iranian-backed Damascus regime against regional Kurdish groups. The Patriots were deployed after media reports conveyed intelligence suggesting that the Assad regime was readying its chemical weapons arsenal for use.