US ‘aliens’ don’t belong in Persian Gulf: Revolutionary Guards chief

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran has full control over the Persian Gulf and is prepared to blockade oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US sanctions, Revolutionary Guards Navy Lieutenant Commander Alireza Tangsiri said on Monday. 

The US Navy maintains a presence in the Gulf to protect its shipping routes, but General Tangsiri said Washington does not belong there, Reuters reports, citing Iran's Tasnim news agency.

“We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the US and the countries whose home is not in here,” Tangsiri said.

Iran even threatened military action to block oil exports in retaliation against US plans to halt Iran’s sale of crude oil.

“All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Persian Gulf,” Tangsiri said. “Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day.”

Tehran has full control of the Strait of Hormuz and shutting down the route would be the most direct way of blocking shipments, he said. 

Iran is the third largest OPEC oil producing nation after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

US President Donald Trump withdrew America from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) in May, arguing the deal, also signed by European powers, Russia, and China, did not go far enough to prevent Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon. 

A raft of sanctions targeting Iran’s trade, banking, and oil sectors have been reintroduced and will be applied in stages. Besides curtailing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the sanctions are also designed to pressure the Iranian government to end it interference in regional conflicts.