Kirby, who is United States' National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said on Friday that the US military would work to bolster the defense posture in the Persian Gulf, and “increase coordination” with allies in the Strait of Hormuz following what he called Iran’s seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman rejected those comments, saying that Iran is the most influential country in protecting the security of navigation in the Persian Gulf as well as in regional and international waters, and has always guaranteed the safe passage of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Kanaani said that the American official has levelled the accusations against Iran while the US itself has been creating and triggering instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region over the past decades through its “destructive and meddlesome policies.”
The new accusations against Iran are just excuses and meant to justify the continued US presence in the region or to increase its meddlesome presence there, he added.
The spokesman blamed the US government for threatening the security of navigation and international trade through confiscating Iran’s oil cargos in high seas and resorting to measures that are in violation of maritime laws.
The Islamic Republic has the widest border and the highest level of interests and responsibility when it comes to protecting the security of the Persian Gulf region and the Hormuz Strait, Kanaani said, adding that the destabilizing presence and measures by American forces increases the Islamic Republic’s responsibility to guarantee the security of the region and the Strait of Hormuz, and to deal with violators and those who break laws.
The spokesman said that the Islamic Republic considers the continued presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf waters as a threat against security of navigation in the strategic region, and believes that regional countries are capable of guarding peace and security in that region, without the presence of foreigners.
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