TEHRAN – The deputy chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces has denounced certain U.S. warmongers for threatening to confront Iranian military assets in the Persian Gulf, ISNA reported. 

“Those who aim to sink Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf are lacking military sanity,” Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Saturday.

Denouncing the anti-Iran rhetoric as trash-talk and empty threats, Jazayeri said the armed forces of the Islamic Republic possess more influence than ever upon the Persian Gulf region.

He further warned the United States against taking military action against the Islamic Republic, saying “the enemy’s forces and assets are in the target range of Iranian forces.”

“In the event that the American warmongers and their mercenaries [in the region] carry out an immature and unprofessional act [against Iran], they will be definitely met with a strong reaction from the Islamic warriors,” the top commander warned.

He further cautioned the United States not to mess with the Islamic Republic and its armed forces because “any action that threatens the country’s security, will be countered decisively.”

Following the recent U.S. presidential election which led to the victory of Donald Trump, tension between Tehran and Washington has reached new peak.

During his campaign, Trump vowed to take aggressive action against Iranian naval vessels in the Persian Gulf, claiming the vessels “harass U.S. ships in the region.”

Trump’s cabinet picks have also been big opponents of the Islamic Republic and have expressed hard-line views about Iran’s role in the Middle East and its nuclear program.

Among them, Gen. James N. Mattis, who was nominated to lead the U.S. Defense Department, has argued that Iran “is the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.”

“We’re going to have to plan for the worst,” said Mattis in April, fuelling speculation about the possibility of military confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

MH/PA