Defense Minister of Iran Brigadier General Amir Hatami denounced the “illegal and aggressive” presence of American military forces in the Persian Gulf as the root cause of insecurity in the region.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a parade in Tehran, held on Friday to mark the Army Day, the Iranian defense minister lashed out at the US for upsetting the regional security with its unlawful military presence in the Persian Gulf.
“What creates insecurity in the Persian Gulf region is in fact the illegal and aggressive presence of Americans, who have come near our borders from the other side of the world,” Brigadier General Hatami noted.
Dismissing the baseless claims that the US has leveled against Iran’s naval forces in the regional waters, the minister said the Iranian people are insightful and can realize who is in the right.
“We are at our own home, while they (Americans) have come from the other side of the world and are creating problems for the regional countries with threats and sanctions,” the Iranian general added.
His comments came after the US claimed that Iran’s naval vessels have come within 10 yards of American warships in the Persian Gulf in what the US navy described as a series of “dangerous and harassing approaches”.
The US Naval Forces Central Command said 11 small Iranian boats circled six US warships on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sent a post on his Twitter account as a “yearly reminder” of the illegal US military presence in the region.
“US Navy can’t seem to find its way around our waters. Perhaps because it hasn’t figured out its name: Persian Gulf, as it’s been called for 2,000 years longer than US has existed. Or maybe it doesn’t know what it’s doing in our backyard, 7,000 miles from home,” Zarif had said in a tweet in August 2018.
Source: Mehr News Agency
