Foreign military presence endangers Persian Gulf security: Iran parliament chief
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says the presence of foreign military forces puts regional security at risk, expressing hope that the countries in the region will join hands to expel foreign troops from the Persian Gulf region.
Addressing a virtual conference dubbed “Persian Gulf is our home” and hosted by Supreme National Defense University in Tehran on Wednesday, Qalibaf attributed the security gap between the north and south of the Persian Gulf to the presence of American troops.
He said the Americans are the “main source of insecurity” in the region since they are there to bring about and take control of many developments and trends that benefit them.
Besides causing insecurity, Qalibaf added, the presence of foreign military forces “leads to the destruction of economic opportunities in the region and beyond.”
“The United States wants to gain influence over the region and the global economy through presence in the Persian Gulf. It also wants to exercise power even on the European powers in a bid to maintain the security of the Zionist regime in this sensitive region, which plays a very important role in the global energy supply and serves as the engine that propels the economic sector forward,” he added.
However, Qalibaf noted, a strong and capable Iran has shown in practice that it will never allow the US to have influence in the north of the Persian Gulf.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran cut off their hands from the north of the Persian Gulf. We hope that regional countries will together rid them of their foothold in the region and celebrate a day when foreign troops are expelled from the Persian Gulf.”
Iranians have sacrificed many lives to maintain regional security in direct confrontations with the US military and the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, he said.
Qalibaf also described convergence as one of the factors in safeguarding the Persian Gulf, saying, “One of the reasons behind the presence of foreign forces in the region is to prevent convergence. We must consciously oppose this policy and avoid any divergence, because regional nations are Muslims and culturally close to each other.”
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