TEHRAN — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reminded Washington that by its presence in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy is 7,000 miles away from home.

A U.S. Navy statement published on Wednesday claimed that 11 Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) boats had closed in on up to six U.S. naval vessels in the Persian Gulf “in dangerous and harassing approaches”.

The statement also said the incident took place in the “northern Arabian Gulf”, a historically flawed and provocative expression commonly adopted by anti-Iran groups instead of “Persian Gulf” term.

In response, Zarif mentioned a 2-year-old tweet of himself that read, “US Navy can’t seem to find its way around our waters. Perhaps because it hasn’t figured out its name: Persian Gulf, as it's been called for 2,000 yrs longer than US has existed.”

“Or maybe it doesn't know what it's doing in our backyard, 7,000 miles from home,” Zarif’s tweet added.

At the time, Zarif's tweet came shortly after a chief spokesman for U.S. Central Command William Urban used the fabricated term “Arabian Gulf” during an interview with CNN.

Iran has designated April 30 as National Persian Gulf Day to highlight the fact that the waterway has been referred to by historians and ancient texts as “Persian” since the Achaemenid Empire was established in what is now modern-day Iran.

Late last month, the IRGC issued a statement warning that the “slightest mistake” against Iran in any part of the country by the “evil and adventurous enemies” will be their last mistake.

“The decisive and destructive response of the Islamic Revolution Front will be unbelievable and even will not give them the opportunity of expressing regret,” the IRGC stated on the anniversary of the Islamic Republic Day.

MH/PA