Amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, marked by media reports of an Israeli submarine arriving in the region, and US warships deployed for naval drills, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has voiced hopes for de-escalation ahead of the upcoming change of administration in the White House, while intimating that Tehran was ready for “any scenario”.
Tehran has yet again issued a message to deplore increased military movements by Washington amid heightened tensions in the region. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council underscored in a Monday tweet that the currently escalated “mobility” of the American military was no more than a “defensive show” generated by “fear of the consequences” for its past transgressions in the area.
Shamkhani's statements came as Washington and Tehran have been on heightened alert over their respective movements ahead of the anniversary of a succession of events in late 2019 and early 2020 that have fuelled the already tense relations between the two countries.
In a recent show of force in the Persian Gulf, Israeli media reported on 21 December that an Israeli Navy submarine had crossed Egypt's Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, while on the same day the US Navy shared images of the Ohio-class submarine USS Georgia and accompanying cruisers crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
A US Navy official confirmed to Fox News that the latest movements in the Persian Gulf had been planned ahead of the approaching…
