Iran opens naval base at Hormuz Strait
Source: Tehran Times, 29-10-2008
TEHRAN (Bloomberg) -- Iran opened a naval base on the Strait of Hormuz that's capable of keeping foreign forces out of the Persian Gulf, the chief of the Iranian navy said.
"With this naval base, a new line of defense was created in the Persian Gulf," Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was cited as saying by the Fars News. "If necessary, we can prevent any enemy from entering the Persian Gulf's strategic area."
The naval chief said the facility, which was inaugurated Monday, is needed because of the presence of foreign forces in the region. The base in the southern port of Jask, 1,050 miles (1,690 kilometers) south of Tehran, is in the eastern part of the strait at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz has been the focus of increasing tension in recent months. Iran has said it may close the strait should the U.S. attack the country over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment as part of a nuclear program.
A spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain had no immediate comment on the base opening, saying he wasn't aware of the Iranian report and would look into it.
The Fifth Fleet held maneuvers on July 7 to practice protecting Persian Gulf oil rigs. Days later Iran said its military test-fired a missile with a 2,000-kilometer range.
"The powerful presence of the naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the combination of the Revolutionary Guards and armed forces have turned on its head the predictions of enemies," said the army deputy commander, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, according to a report on the Iranian Students News Agency.
"The time for bullying, unilateralism and aggression has ended," Mousavi said while visiting the Jask naval base. "The sooner enemies realize this, the better for them. Otherwise, they will have to pay heavy costs."
The U.S. and 'Israel' have accused Iran of enriching uranium as part of nuclear-weapons development. The Iranian government has insisted that the program is intended only to generate electricity, and is legal under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory.
TEHRAN (Bloomberg) -- Iran opened a naval base on the Strait of Hormuz that's capable of keeping foreign forces out of the Persian Gulf, the chief of the Iranian navy said.
"With this naval base, a new line of defense was created in the Persian Gulf," Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was cited as saying by the Fars News. "If necessary, we can prevent any enemy from entering the Persian Gulf's strategic area."
The naval chief said the facility, which was inaugurated Monday, is needed because of the presence of foreign forces in the region. The base in the southern port of Jask, 1,050 miles (1,690 kilometers) south of Tehran, is in the eastern part of the strait at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz has been the focus of increasing tension in recent months. Iran has said it may close the strait should the U.S. attack the country over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment as part of a nuclear program.
A spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain had no immediate comment on the base opening, saying he wasn't aware of the Iranian report and would look into it.
The Fifth Fleet held maneuvers on July 7 to practice protecting Persian Gulf oil rigs. Days later Iran said its military test-fired a missile with a 2,000-kilometer range.
"The powerful presence of the naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the combination of the Revolutionary Guards and armed forces have turned on its head the predictions of enemies," said the army deputy commander, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, according to a report on the Iranian Students News Agency.
"The time for bullying, unilateralism and aggression has ended," Mousavi said while visiting the Jask naval base. "The sooner enemies realize this, the better for them. Otherwise, they will have to pay heavy costs."
The U.S. and 'Israel' have accused Iran of enriching uranium as part of nuclear-weapons development. The Iranian government has insisted that the program is intended only to generate electricity, and is legal under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory.
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