IRGC Commander:

Only Regional States Can Maintain Persian Gulf Security

Date: 23 August 2019 - 21:33

News ID: ۶۹۶۲۹

MASHHAD (Dispatches) -The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami says array of countries other than the Persian Gulf’s own littoral states can provide the region’s security.
Speaking from the holy city of Mashhad, Major General Hossein Salami said: "No extra-regional country or coalition of countries would be able to maintain security in this region save for the littoral states of the Persian Gulf."
The IRGC's top commander added, "We believe in a regional security system with the participation of the Persian Gulf littoral states, and consider foreign presence in the Persian Gulf to be contradictory to security of this region.”
He described any other security mechanism other than one, in which Iran and the rest of the regional states play the pivotal role, as "unfeasible,” reminding that all past experiences of foreign presence under the guise of security missions have only resulted in the "escalation of tensions and even warfare.”
The United States has announced plans to form a coalition to supposedly protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz following a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the strait and the Sea of Oman.
Washington has accused Iran of having a hand in those attacks, a claim Tehran has strongly rejected. Tehran has warned that such acts of sabotage may be part of a general ploy to target Iran amid increasing regional tensions.
The U.S. has asked its allies to join the coalition, a call which has not been warmly received by several countries, including Germany, Japan and Spain, over apparent fears that such a mission could further ratchet up tensions with Iran.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior IRGC commander refuted the concept held by Iran's enemies that sanctions imposed on the country had acted to destroy and weaken its economy, calling the bans "instruments of our development and advancement.”
The U.S.’ unilateral restrictive measures have provided the Islamic Republic with room to better avail itself of its national and indigenous capacities, he concluded.
"Iran is progressing and its signs are clear to everybody. Sanctions have not only failed to prevent our progress, but on the contrary, have created conditions, in view of our internal potentialities, without which we would not be able to activate our national and local capacities," the Iranian commander said.
General Salami highlighted the positive effect of U.S. sanctions against Iran and said they have helped the Islamic Republic to reached its economic and political independence.
"Past experiences have shown that enemies cannot infiltrate into the country and that currently, they are unable to pursue their goals,” Major General Salami said.
"Sanctions cannot stop our progress,” he said, adding that however, they create space for Iran to focus its attention on its capacities.
If there were no sanctions, Iran would not return to its indigenous capabilities and would not achieve its economic and political independence, the commander went on to say.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has emphasized during his tour of Northern European countries that Iran invests all its efforts in ensuring security of the Persian Gulf, asserting that the United States cannot cause insecurity in this strategic region.
"They should know that they cannot create insecurity here,” the top diplomat stated while making a speech at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) on Thursday, reminding that Iran’s Persian Gulf coastline stretches as far as 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers), making it the longest among the body of water’s littoral states.
The country also enjoys control over half of the expanse of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's foreign minister said, adding that provision of security for the lifeline shipping route is impossible without participation of the Islamic Republic.
The US has asked its allies to join the coalition, a call which has not been warmly received by several countries, including Germany, Japan and Spain, over apparent fears that such a mission could further ratchet up tensions with Iran.
"Should any one favor security in the Persian Gulf, it must seek security for all of its coastal countries,” Zarif said, expressing the Islamic Republic’s readiness for interaction with all those who are interested in collective action aimed at ensuring regional security.
The foreign minister said Iran has proven its disinclination towards escalating tensions, citing the country’s bilateral and multilateral negotiations with the previous U.S. administration that resulted in the conclusion of a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and major world powers, which if officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
**************Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Hossein Salami