Iranian Commander Tells U.S. Forces:

When in Persian Gulf, Speak Persian

Date: 31 August 2014 - 21:45

News ID: ۴۵۴۵

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- The U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf are obligated to speak in Farsi during their radio communications with Iran’s forces, an Iranian commander said on Sunday.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi pointed to Iran’s powerful military presence in the Persian Gulf, saying the IRGC naval forces stand firmly against US forces and other hostile forces and defends the Iranian marine borders.

"We have declared to the U.S. warships in the region that they should speak Persian in their radio communications with the IRGC naval forces and they have accepted to do so,” the commander stated.

The United States has recently intensified its military presence in the Persian Gulf following the escalation of ISIL terrorist operations across Iraq.

Apart from the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Washington also relies on its other military bases across the Persian Gulf, including al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Ali al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

Iran vehemently opposes the presence of any extra-regional military forces in the region and has constantly stressed that the regional countries must maintain the security of the Persian Gulf.

The Islamic Republic has held several military drills in the Persian Gulf to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and equipment.

Iran has repeatedly said its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.

Iranian patrol vessels and U.S. warships have had occasional brushes in the Persian Gulf.

In the latest, a U.S. vessel fired on an Iranian fishing boat in the Persian Gulf last week.

The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said that personnel on a small boat dispatched from the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat Monomoy fired a single shot on Tuesday when they saw crew on a nearby Iranian dhow training a .50-caliber machine gun on them and preparing to fire.

No one was hurt in the encounter, which came as the two countries work to hammer out a lasting deal over Iran’s nuclear program.

The shot from the U.S. patrol boat was fired "in the air about three miles away” from the Iranian boat, Adm. Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency.

"It wasn’t a clash but a single shot in the air ... there was no clash between Iranian and American forces,” Fadavi said, adding that "Americans feared and felt danger from a fishing dhow.”

Dhows are traditional wooden boats common to the region that are typically used for trade.

American, Iranian and other countries’ military vessels routinely patrol the Persian Gulf, a key route for international oil shipments, usually without incident.

Speed boats from Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, however, have passed close to U.S. ships in incidents that have raised alarm in Washington.

Fadavi, the Iranian officer, also said the Americans "should be fearful” as long as they are present in the Persian Gulf.