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Iran says West’s wargame in Persian Gulf not to dent Iran’ s power in region

06 September 2012 23:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA.A number of Iranian lawmakers and commanders have recently reacted to an upcoming wargame of the United States and its allies including its regional partners in the Persian Gulf, saying that West’s wargame will not dent Iran’s power in the region, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The United States and at least 25 other countries will hold the largest-scale mine-sweeping exercise on Sept. 16-27 in the Persian Gulf, in a show of unity and a defensive step to prevent Iran from attempting to block oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

Under Western sanction pressures on Iran’s oil exports, a number of Iranian commanders have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and to block the flow of oil through this international waterway.

The Iranian lawmaker, Vahid Ahmadi, has said that West’s military exercise in the Persian Gulf will not affect Iran’s power in the region, Press TV reported on Thursday.

Ahmadi said that the upcoming wargame will not have the slightest impact on the power of the Islamic republic since Iran is fully in command of the region, said the report.

"Holding the maneuver certainly aims to boost morale among Western powers and some of their agents in the region. They are fighting tooth and nail to display their power to the Islamic Republic of Iran," Ahmadi was quoted as saying.

Also, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Army Brigadier General Abdolrahim Mousavi underlined the Iran’s full preparedness to push back enemy pressures and threats, and said that the country’s Armed Forces will give a swift and crushing response to any possible enemy attack, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

The Iranian forces are well-trained to defend the country’s territorial integrity under any circumstances, said Mousavi.

On Wednesday, a senior Iranian lawmaker said the United States’ upcoming maneuvers in the Persian Gulf will not undermine the Islamic republic’s strength in the region, Press TV reported.

Deputy Chairman of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Mansour Haqiqatpour, said by conducting the drill, the Americans want to show that they are apparently by the side of their allies in the Gulf region.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran’s authority in the region is a historical one, characterized by capability and steadfastness, and it seems as though these maneuvers, which the Americans stage in the region, were simply meant to give false hope to their regional elements," Haqiqatpour was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, a commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps ( IRGC) said Wednesday that the IRGC’s navy forces are closely and seriously watching every move made by the U. S. forces in the Persian Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported.

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said vessels of the IRGC navy are patrolling around the U.S. warships present in the Persian Gulf waters, according to IRNA.

Fadavi said should the U.S. attempt the folly of staging an act of aggression in the Persian Gulf, such military action will cost the lives of all the American forces engaged, Press TV reported Wednesday.

He added that in the event of such incursion, U.S. commander should expect the Islamic republic’s crushing response and know that they should not await a favorable outcome, according to the report.

"Should a bullet fly in the Persian Gulf, it will definitely be the detriment of the U.S. and its allies," Fadavi was quoted as saying.

He said that the presence of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf is considered as a threat to Iran, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday.

The Kingdom of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf is home to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and United States Fifth Fleet.

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Tuesday that the Iranian naval forces enjoy full intelligence command over all the movements of U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, Press TV reported.

"We monitor all the movements of U.S. warships and have intelligence command over their activities," Sayyari was quoted as saying.

"The presence of U.S. warships in the free waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is in accordance with international law and we have not allowed the U.S. to enter our territorial waters," said the Iranian commander.