No Place for Foreign Forces in Persian Gulf: IRGC Navy

Speaking to reporters in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad on Monday, Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said Iranian forces are vigilantly controlling the country’s southern waters in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Highlighting Iran’s intelligence dominance over the enemy and the constant monitoring of hostile forces in the Persian Gulf, the commander said, “We have a message for our Muslim neighbors, and have announced several times that we extend the hand of fraternity to you (the neighbors) and believe that the Persian Gulf is our home, so we can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the US and the countries whose home is not in here.”

Rear Admiral Tangsiri also said that deployment of foreign nuclear warships to the Persian Gulf, which is an enclosed sea, could create environmental problems in the region.

Refraining from dispatching nuclear vessels to their own waters, the outsiders send them to the Persian Gulf, causing problems for Iran and the other Persian Gulf neighbors, he deplored.

Iran has never launched any attack on other countries, the commander reiterated, saying the enemies have misrepresented the reality in order to deploy forces to the region and sell their weapons.

The presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf disrupts security in the region, he concluded.

In remarks in 2016, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that security of the Persian Gulf region comes within the purview of the regional countries alone, and dismissed the US claim of seeking security in the region.

“The Persian Gulf security relates to the countries of the region which have common interests, and not to the US. So, security of the Persian Gulf region should be provided by the countries of this region itself,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei has also called for the enhancement of the Iranian naval forces’ presence in international waters and expanding the Navy’s power in balance with the merit of the Islamic Establishment.