Iran: No need for US Navy in Gulf

A general in Iran said Monday that the country has control of the Persian Gulf and warned the U.S. Navy to not have a presence there, Reuters reported.

General Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, told Tasnim news that Iran has control of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

“We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the U.S. and the countries whose home is not in here,” he said, according to Reuters. “All the carriers and military and nonmilitary ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Persian Gulf. Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day.”

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Additionally, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said any conflict between Iran and its enemies “will not be beneficial” for Iran’s enemies.  

“The enemies are strictly avoiding any conflict with Iran because they know that it will not be beneficial for them,” Jafari reportedly said.

Earlier this month, the top U.S. general in the Middle East said the U.S. military remains “extraordinarily vigilant” about Iranian movements in the Persian Gulf after an Iranian naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command head Gen. Joseph Votel said at the time that he believed the exercise was supposed to serve as retaliation against Washington over economic sanctions that have been reimposed on Iran.

“It’s pretty clear to us that they were trying to use that exercise to send a message to us that as we approach this period of the sanctions here that they had some capabilities,” Votel said at the time.

The Trump administration earlier this month reimposed sanctions on Iran that had previously been lifted as part of a nuclear agreement with the country. Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the deal earlier this year.

Last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that Americans “should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.” He made the comments to diplomats in Tehran while talking about Iran’s right to the Strait of Hormuz.  

Trump appeared to respond to those comments in an all-caps tweet, telling the Iranian leader to “never, ever threaten the United States.”

“NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE,” Trump wrote. “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”