TEHRAN – The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC) says the IRGC’s naval troops will respond, with full force, to any move by the enemies in the Persian Gulf.

Major General Mohammad Pakpour made the comment while inspecting the IRGC’s operational units in the Persian Gulf waters.

“As the [Iranian] Armed Forces brought the Israeli regime and the United States to their knees in the 12-day imposed war, the IRGC’s Naval Force will respond to any move by the enemies in the sea or on the [Persian Gulf] islands with full preparedness,” said the top general.

General Pakpour’s inspection of the IRGC’s naval forces comes ahead of a potential second war with Israel and the United States. 

In the event of another war, Iran could block and mine the strategic Hormuz Strait through which more than 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas pass. The blockage of the Hormuz Strait could deal a serious blow to the economies of world countries, namely the Western nations and the United States.

On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked aggression against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that killed at least 1,064 people in the country, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and ordinary people. The United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in gross violation of international law.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.

Iran’s three highest-ranking military commanders have reaffirmed the country’s full preparedness to counter any aggression, stressing that unity among the Armed Forces is the cornerstone of safeguarding national security, independence, and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

In late September, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said in meeting with Major General Pakpour that the Armed Forces are “fully prepared to decisively confront any threat or possible aggression.”

“The great victories and remarkable achievements of the Armed Forces, particularly the IRGC and the Basij, prove that the strategy of active deterrence and delivering powerful, brave, and crushing responses to threats is effective,” he said.

General Mousavi said that the unity of the Army and the IRGC remains “the factor behind the enemy’s defeat and the guarantor of Iran’s independence, national security, territorial integrity, and the protection of the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.”

For his part, General Pakpour emphasized that the IRGC stands at the forefront of implementing the Islamic Republic’s defensive doctrine.

He underlined that the force is ready for a “swift, decisive, and instructive” response to any adventurism by the enemy, pointing to the June aggression against Iran, in which “the Zionist enemy and the United States suffered defeat.”

A week ago, General Mousavi paid his own visit to naval bases in the Persian Gulf and spoke with IRGC navy commanders about the country’s plans and preparations.