TEHRAN- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran has forwarded a warning to the U.S. government against any sort of regional mischief, including the seizure of ships.

“Iran has reached such a high degree of power and capability that can respond in kind to any U.S. action and mischief in the region, including the seizure of ships,” IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said on Monday.

He continued by saying that the neighboring nations have “correctly understood that Iran is turning into a big power in the region.”

The IRGC spokesman also noted, “In any direct battle between Iran and the United States during recent years, regional countries have seen the weakness of America and the power of the Islamic Republic, and have realized that the security of the Persian Gulf must be established by its own littoral countries.”

Sharif’s comments followed CENTCOM’s announcement on Monday that the U.S. Navy had sent more than 3,000 sailors and marines to the Persian Gulf under the pretext of securing ships and vessels traveling through the region’s major waterways.

It also mentioned that the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) soldiers had landed in the Persian Gulf.

The decision came after the U.S. Navy accused Iran of “attacking, seizing, or attempting to seize” almost 20 commerce-related boats in the region during the previous two years.

Nevertheless, in spite of Washington’s bogus allegations, the IRGC Navy has recently prevented a number of attacks on foreign and Iranian ships in the vital Persian Gulf waterway and other high seas.

Iran maintains that the presence of U.S. military warships in the Persian Gulf poses a danger to security and fuels tension and instability in the region.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Saturday that the security of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Indian Ocean have nothing to do with the United States.