The chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces has stressed the role of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in safeguarding the country, saying the forces have “humbled” US warships.
“Through their acts of valor, IRGC naval forces have humbled US warships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and IRGC speedboats have sent shivers down their spines,” Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said on Saturday.
Pentagon spokesman, Captain Jeff Davis, said on September 6 that seven fast-attack boats of the IRGC had approached the US warship USS Firebolt on September 4 with their machine guns uncovered, though not trained on the Americans.
While dismissing the US harassment claims as “sheer lies and untrue,”Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the commander of the IRGC Navy, said the IRGC Navy has been constantly and pervasively present in all Iran’s coastal territories from the northernmost areas of the Persian Gulf to its southernmost regions in the Strait of Hormuz.
“There has been a stable situation in the region for years and we exercise full control over the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” Fadavi said on September 13.
In January, Iran's Navy arrested the crews of two US patrol boats that had trespassed on Iranian territorial waters. Iran released them after establishing that they had done so by mistake.
Iran has invariably asserted that it only uses its naval might for defensive purposes and to send across the Islamic Republic’s message of peace and security to other nations.
Baqeri further underscored the contribution of the IRGC forces to the deterrence prowess of the country and said as in other parts of the country, “sustainable security” prevails in Iran’s northwestern regions, where Kurdish militants have occasionally infiltrated to wreak havoc, by courtesy of the sacrifices of the organization’s ground forces.
“The might that has been forged thanks to the power of the Armed Forces, particularly the IRGC, has to a large extent deterred the enemy from direct and classic confrontation with the US,” Baqeri said.
According to the calculations and estimates of the enemies, he said, “The cost of war outweighs its benefits and this is considered one of the results of the defensive deterrence and might of the Islamic Iran.”
Baqeri also enumerated the identifications and recognition of enemies as another crucial responsibility of the IRGC and underlined the importance of having full intelligence of enemy plots and designs and anticipating its moves.
“Today, the US is the biggest enemy of [Iran’s 1979 Islamic] Revolution and the occupying Zionist regime [of Israel], the UK and their regional puppets such as Al Saud are also the enemies of the revolution and will spare no effort [in their hostility].”
