Iran Enjoys Needed Capability to Establish Security in Strait of Hormuz

(FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari underlined that the country enjoys the needed power to protect the security of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

"We are so much powerful and mighty that we can maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz and don’t allow it to turn into an insecure region," Sayyari said in an interview with the Iranian Qanoun newspaper on Sunday.

He stressed that the power and might of the Iranian Navy can also be seen in its deployment in the international waters, including the Sea of China, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal and other parts.

Sayyari said that despite the world powers' unwillingness to see the Iranian Navy in the international seas, the country will continue its presence in free waters in the future.

In relevant remarks earlier this month, Sayyari said Tehran would never allow anyone to impair security in the Persian Gulf.

"A country has come from the other part of the world and seeks to promote Iranophobia and Islamophobia and intimidates the small Persian Gulf littoral states from Iran and the neighboring states..., and these foreigners are the problem of this region," Sayyari said.

Stressing that the Persian Gulf's security should be provided by the regional states, he said as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei recently stated "the Persian Gulf's security is just related to the Persian Gulf littoral states".

"We have announced many times that security in the Persian Gulf can be established through (the collective cooperation of) all the regional states; Iran is also capable of establishing security in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman and doesn’t allow this region to become insecure," Sayyari emphasized.

His remarks came after Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the US for trying to make the Persian Gulf insecure, warning that insecurity in the waterway poses a stability and security threat to all the regional states.

"The US is not seeking the security in the Persian Gulf and it is not qualified to comment in this regard," the Supreme Leader said, addressing a group of officials, Muslim countries' ambassadors and Iranians from different walks of life in a meeting in Tehran on May 16 marking the anniversary of the appointment of Islam's Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) to his divine mission.

The Supreme Leader reiterated that the Persian Gulf's security would benefit all, and warned, "If the Persian Gulf becomes insecure, it will be insecure for all the regional countries."

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the US allegations about its efforts for the security of the Persian Gulf as another false claim, and said, "The security of the Persian Gulf is related to the regional countries that share common interests and not the US; hence the security of the Persian Gulf should be maintained by the countries of this very region."