AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces rebuffed US accusations that Iran is destabilizing the Persian Gulf region and instead branded Washington as the source of insecurity in the region and the “master of the world’s pirates.”
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said the US is destabilizing the region and looting its resources, yet it accuses Iran of destabilizing the neighborhood.
“Americans accuse us of creating insecurity in the Persian Gulf. This is while the Persian Gulf is the home of regional countries. One should ask the Americans ‘What’s your business here’?” he said on Thursday.
He was referring to long-running US accusations that Iran’s regional activities destabilize the region. Last week, the US military announced it has deployed more than 3,000 forces to the region to protect vessels from what is claimed to be Iran’s harassment and seizure attempts.
"One of the requirements of this region is security and the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of security building in the region and it is paying costs for it. The arrangement [of Iran] is aimed at establishing security, not insecurity," he said.
"The US is exactly on the opposite side and its arrangement is aimed at creating insecurity; the US is the master of the world's pirates ... So, it is rational to confront this piracy and this cannot be called creating insecurity."
“Our measures are not meant to create insecurity,” he said, adding that countries shouldn’t allow the US to threaten waterways and disrupt international free trade in the region and sacrifice the interests of others for its own interests.
General Shekarchi said the fact is that Iran is doing its best to protect regional security, including through holding naval drills in the Persian Gulf.
“Even if we are a source of threat, this is against the US, the UK, and the Zionist regime and not regional countries, as we have common interests with regional nations,” he said.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps last week held a naval drill in the Persian Gulf after the US announced it will deploy more troops to the region.
The commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami said at the time Iran will give a “harsh response" to threats and seditions.
"There is no need for the presence of America or its European or non-European allies in this region,” he said.
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