TEHRAN— The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces has issued a stark warning to the United States, saying that Iran will deal decisively with any wandering vessel that endangers the safety of waters.

Speaking at a gathering of the Iranian Navy, Major General Mohammad Bagheri said, “Our country is at the height of oppressive sanctions, both from the financial point of view and from the technological point of view. In these difficult conditions, the zealous youths, relying on local knowledge, were able to build new vessels, missiles, drones, weapons and equipment in the field of defense, as well as renovating and rebuilding the complex equipment of the past and make it operational again. This is a very valuable and great work, and we appreciate the efforts of each and every one of you and everyone involved in this matter.”

Pointing out that the strategic role of the Iranian Navy in securing the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and in the rest of the world is very effective, the top military official said, “We were busy defending our naval facilities, oil platforms, beaches and islands during the Sacred Defense, but today, thank God, the enemies, seeing our strength, withdrew large parts of their naval units from our territories.”

Bagheri stated that today, through reliance on the strength of equipment and courage of the army’s brave men, Iran is present in the Indian Ocean. 

“Maritime security has been established in the past several years without a single problem, and numerous piracies have occurred, but none of the Iranian vessels were involved, and the army was able to establish the security of Iran’s fleet and the export of oil and import of goods with complete security and in some cases, the army has helped the vessels that were attacked, which is a very big job,” he stated.

Major General Bagheri added that the enemies are trying to compensate for the reduction of forces in the region in various ways, including by creating new units. 

“The reports of our army men indicate that by launching and sending small unmanned surveillance units, they endanger the security of maritime navigation,” the top military commander stated.

“We believe that the rights of maritime security and free navigation in open and international waters should be established equally for everyone and we fully defend this right of our people,” Bagheri said, adding that by following international procedures and filing a complaint to the International Maritime Organization, Iran declares that its vessels will not tolerate such actions on their route and will confront them.

Bagheri stressed that according to the report obtained by the Iranian army, some countries have threatened the security of the region by normalizing relations with the Zionist regime. 

“Also, the Zionist regime's joining the terrorist U.S. Army's Central Command can create threats for us. We do not tolerate Zionism, and in addition to protesting through the country's foreign policy apparatus, we declare that we will not tolerate such development of espionage and creating threats, and we will not make any compromises regarding the rights of the Iranian nation and the security of our seas and land,” he concluded.