Iran in full control of Persian Gulf: IRGC deputy commander
Tehran (KNA) - A senior Iranian commander has downplayed Washington’s stepped-up belligerent rhetoric against the Islamic Republic, saying US warships deployed to the Persian Gulf get permission for movements there from Iranian forces, who are in full control of the strategic waters.
Over the past many years, our forces have acquired full control of the Persian Gulf in a way that they (US warships) should get permission from us for their movements in this area," Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday.
"Everything north of the Strait of Hormuz is under our control," he emphasized, referring to a major oil shipping waterway which connects the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, adding that the American navy ships "cannot approach the waters that fall within our mare clausum."
The crew members of these warships, he said, are even required to know Persian language and there are always interpreters aboard the ships, adding, "This means power."
Fadavi's comments came a week after the American Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS McFaul and USS Gonzalez sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian Gulf without any incident amid tensions with Iran.
Source: PressTV