Iran has key role in keeping security of Persian Gulf: Khamenei

Monitoring Desk

TEHRAN: Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution says Iran has a key role in keeping the security of the Persian Gulf, and the presence of extra-regional forces threatens any initiative that could benefit the people of the region.

In a series of tweets published on the Twitter page of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, the Leader also said that the Persian Gulf belongs to the nations living there, and those are the ones responsible for ensuring its security.

“Iran with its long coastlines has a key role in keeping the security of this region. By God’s grace we will do our part. This is our historical, geographical and regional duty,” said one the tweets, which were posted on the occasion of the National Persian Gulf Day.

The Leader also said that a “wise and rational collective policy” in favor of the people of the region cannot be achieved while foreign forces are present in the Persian Gulf.

Earlier in the day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also reminded the United States to whom the waterway truly belongs.

“The Americans should know that this waterway is called ‘the Persian Gulf.’ It is not called ‘the New York Gulf’ or ‘the Washington Gulf,’” President Rouhani told a cabinet session in Tehran.

The remarks came against the backdrop of Washington’s incessant acts of military adventurism in the Persian Gulf region.

“They should understand the circumstances [surrounding the body of water] by taking into consideration both its name and the nation that has preserved it for thousands of years, and, therefore, stop hatching plots against the Iranian nation every day,” Rouhani stated.

US President Trump alleged in a recent tweet that he had ordered the US Navy to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian gunboats that “harass” American ships, following a recent confrontation between US warships and Iranian military boats in the waters.

The IRGC denounced the American vessels for their “unprofessional and perilous” behavior in the waterway, and said they had “caused trouble” for one of the elite force’s logistics ships that was on a routine patrol.

A US Navy statement claimed that about a dozen IRGC boats had approached several US naval vessels in the Persian Gulf “in dangerous and harassing” ways.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mousavi described the US annual report on religious freedom in the world as clear interference in other countries’ internal affairs and based on misinformation, saying that the report indicates the ignorance and misunderstanding of situation in Iran regarding the rights of religious minorities. (PRESSTV)