Iranian Army Chief: False Coalitions Cannot Keep Hormuz Strait Secure

By Staff, Agencies

The Chief Commander of Iran's Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said regional countries cannot rely on outsiders to provide security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that false coalitions established by foreign countries will fail to keep the strategic region and the key waterway secure.

"Security of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf can only be achieved through the establishment of intra-regional cooperation [among the littoral states] and not through false coalitions,” Major General Mousavi said on Thursday, adding, "So, it is time that foreign forces pulled out of the region."

The military chief emphasized that defending the country's "vital and sensitive facilities" enjoys "strategic" priority, noting that the Iranian Army attaches special importance to the issue. 

Back in August, Iran's defense chief warned that a United States-proposed coalition, which Washington claims would seek to beef up maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, will foment insecurity in the region.

Such a coalition "will only increase regional insecurity," Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami told his Kuwaiti, Qatari, and Omani counterparts during separate telephone conversations.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavi said Iran has obtained self-sufficiency in manufacturing military equipment for all kinds of ground, air and maritime missions, adding, "The Islamic Republic of Iran will be the victor of any possible future conflict."

"Enemies should know that the great [Iranian] nation and the powerful Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will never yield to insult, humiliation and weakening of their resources and will not submit to the demands of powers suffering from delusions of grandeur," Mousavi said.