A top Iranian military official warns extra-regional forces that their movement in the Persian Gulf is closely monitored by the country's naval forces.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said Monday that the Iranian Navy is stationed in the region and controls the passage of warships.
"The arrival of American, British, French and Russian warships to the Persian Gulf has for years been a routine [matter] and shows their greed for our oil resources," he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
Reminding that the Persian Gulf is considered Iran's southern coast, Firouzabadi said that Iran probes every ship, which intends to sail in these waters, and only allows them passage after documenting their details.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not need the presence of extra-regional countries nor their friendship and has always said that the absence of the extra-regional countries will ensure the security of the Persian Gulf," he concluded.
There are currently over 31 warships docked in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, nineteen of which belong to the United States.
The nuclear-powered super carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group are the two well-known US warships in the region.
Last year, the Iranian Navy unveiled its first domestically-manufactured destroyer, Jamaran, in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
The 1,420-ton destroyer, equipped with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, is patrolling the southern waters of the Persian Gulf.
In September, top military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Brigadier General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, said US warships in the Persian Gulf waters are within the reach of the country's defense systems.
He said that Iran's 2,000-kilometer-long coastal strip along the Persian Gulf allows the country to target any hostile navel activity in the area.
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