Ongoing tensions between the US and Iran spiked again recently as President Trump announced he had instructed the US Navy to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian vessels that “harass American warships”, after complaints emerged that some Iranian vessels had sailed dangerously close to US warships in the Persian Gulf.
Amid a recent escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces issued a statement on Monday warning the US that moves perceived as provocative would be reciprocally met with a firm response.
Deploring “high-risk behaviors, which make shipping [in regional waters] insecure”, the statement says that while the Islamic Republic of Iran has never initiated any tension or conflict in the region, it would swiftly come to the defence of its territorial integrity.
The Iranian Armed Forces statement emphasizes its belief that the capabilities of the countries of the region are adequate for maintaining stability in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, while guaranteeing the security of the flow of hydrocarbon resources through the region.
The strongly-worded statement lambastes the “establishment of military bases and extra-regional coalitions led by the US” as wreaking havoc and undermining security, while urging the military forces of the US and its allies to be withdrawn from the region.
While calling out Washington for providing “false accounts of…
