US source of tension, insecurity in region: Commander

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami denounced the US as the cause of instability and tension in the region, saying Iran will boost its naval power to confront its only enemy in the region, namely the US.

“The US (military) presence (in the Persian Gulf) definitely fuels insecurity,” the top commander said at a television talk show on Tuesday night, hitting back at Washington which accuses Iran of destabilizing the region.

“Do we create tensions or Americans, who have brought about instability in the whole regional countries?” he asked.

The commander then underscored that Iran’s naval power and defense strategy have turned the Persian Gulf into a safe, strategic region for the whole world.

He explained that the IRGC has built the structure of its naval power with the aim of defeating big military powers like the US, because “we have no enemy in this region but the US.”

The top general also reasserted Iran’s right to hold military war games in the region, stressing, “No power or country could decide about our deterrent and defensive war games.”

His comments came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei hammered the US for its schemes against Iran’s military presence in the Persian Gulf and made it clear that the Islamic Republic will continue to demonstrate power at its home, the Persian Gulf.

“The Persian Gulf is the Iranian nation’s home ..., and the coasts of the Persian Gulf and large parts of the Sea of Oman coasts belong to this strong nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Monday.

“We must be present in that region (the Persian Gulf), hold war games and demonstrate power… It is Americans who should explain why they have come here from the other side of the world and stage war games,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

SS