US presence in Persian Gulf unjustifiable

The security of the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman, and northern Indian Ocean, according to a top Iranian military commander, has nothing to do with the United States.

The statements were made by Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, when addressing reporters on Saturday in reaction to the United States’ decision to place guards on commercial ships passing through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

“What the security of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean has to do with America? What are you US forces doing here?” the commander asked, adding, “All the countries in the region are capable of establishing security in these waters.”

The US recently announced that it is preparing to send its marines along with jet fighters and warships into the Persian Gulf in yet another act of intrusion far from their borders in an effort to deter Iran on its own territory despite repeated Iranian declarations opposing foreign military presence in the strategically important waterway.

According to the Associated Press, Washington’s forceful economic and diplomatic measures against Iran have failed, and the US is now sending troops, the USS Bataan aircraft carrier, advanced F-35 fighter jets, and other warplanes to the Persian Gulf in an effort to concentrate its resources on China and Russia, which are Iran’s nuclear rivals.

Shekarchi responded to the US action by asserting that Washington has a policy of blaming foreign countries for regional unrest and using it as an excuse to increase its military presence in regional waterways.

The commander slammed the US for stealing the resources of Muslim countries to produce weapons and reselling those weapons to the neighboring states.

He added that although the US and Europe provide the weapons that are now used against people in the region, they accuse Iran of meddling in the internal affairs of the neighboring nations.

Shekarchi further warned those who cast a covetous eye on the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf to heed the Islamic Republic's power in order to avoid any miscalculation.

The top military official urged neighboring nations to place their faith in Iran, reiterating “We guarantee the establishment of security in regional waters.”

Shekarchi referred to the August 02 drills by the IRGC Navy in the Persian Gulf, saying it was intended to demonstrate to the other nations in the region that they do not need to rely on foreigners to maintain regional security.

In order to demonstrate its strength and preparedness to safeguard the security of the Persian Gulf and all of the Iranian islands there, IRGC Navy conducted large-scale war games on several Persian Gulf islands with the purpose of increasing readiness to defend them. 

The exercises spanned the Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Naze'at, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb islands.
Various units of the IRGC Navy, including the combat, naval, missile, drone, rapid reaction, electronic warfare and airborne units, backed by the IRGC Aerospace Force, exercise a range of military tactics in the war game.

Also, drones and sail-drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) were employed in the exercises.