‘You are damn wrong to be in our region’: IRGC Navy chief warns US military

The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has categorically dismissed the US military’s presence in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of securing the strategic maritime region.

Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said on Friday that only Iran and other regional countries will ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the US and other countries to be present in the strategic waterway.

“You are damn wrong to be present in our region,” Tangsiri asserted.

“If we back down against the enemy, it will definitely dominate us and we have no choice but to stand and resist, which is the path to the victory of our nation,” he said.

The IRGC Navy chief made the remarks in an official ceremony in the city of Dezful in Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan, where he lauded the city’s remarkable resistance during the Iraqi aggression imposed on the country in the 1980s.

Describing Dezful as the symbol of resistance and invincibility, Tangsiri said, “During eight years of the Sacred Defense (Iran-Iraq war), we showed the world that we did not and would not surrender to duress.”

He also highlighted the role of the country’s media in countering the enemy’s propaganda.

“We resolutely secure the Persian Gulf, and the media must participate in this security and reflect the capabilities of the IRGC Navy and the Army so that the world understands that the security of the Persian Gulf does not need foreigners,” Tangsiri said.

“We stand firmly against the enemy and will defend the honor and dignity of the Iranian nation,” he added.

The Persian Gulf — which spans some 251,000 square kilometers — is bounded by the Arvand River in the north, which forms the frontier between Iran and Iraq, and the Strait of Hormuz in the south, which links the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

The inland sea is an international trade route connecting the West Asia region to Africa, India, and China.

Iran has made it clear that it views US military vessels lurking in the waters of the Persian Gulf as a threat to its national security and a source of tensions and instability in the region.  

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly vowed to give a decisive response to any hostile move by Washington that would disrupt the security of the strategic waterway.

MG