The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution says Iran has a key role in keeping the security of the Persian Gulf. RNA – Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme 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 Sayyed 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 Persian Gulf belongs to the nations living there. Its security is the duty of these nations, & 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 & regional duty. pic.twitter.com/frlXXdYq0c
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 29, 2020
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.
The #PersianGulf region can be managed by a wise and rational collective policy that benefits all Persian Gulf countries. The factor that threatens such a proper, wise move is the presence of foreign forces in the region.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 29, 2020
The #PersianGulf is our home & the place for the presence of the great #IranianNation. The shores of the Persian Gulf & much of the Gulf of Oman, belong to this nation, & it should be present there. It should demonstrate its power. We’re a powerful nation with a great history.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 29, 2020
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Hasan 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 Donald 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.
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