"Americans' presence undermines security in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman," IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said in the Southern port city of Bushehr on Monday.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is the sole power that enjoys the ability to ensure security in the region, and the world is understanding that security is possible if Iran guarantees it," Fadavi noted.
"Persian Gulf security is a global need," he added.
Iranian officials have always cautioned about the devastating consequences of tension in the region, and called on certain regional states to be watchful of the plots of some aliens who seek to stir tension in this sensitive region.
Tehran believes that deployment of trans-regional powers in the region impairs security and is a source of tension in the region, reiterating that peace and security will be established if all the regional countries grow united and stage all-out cooperation.
Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.
According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.
The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.
The Islamic Republic's top military officials have repeatedly warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, the country would target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.
A recent study by a fellow at Harvard's Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Caitlin Talmadge, warned that Iran could use mines as well as missiles to block the strait, and that "it could take many weeks, even months, to restore the full flow of commerce, and more time still for the oil markets to be convinced that stability had returned".
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A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) called the US military presence in the region as a source of insecurity in the Persian Gulf, and reiterated that Iran is the sole regional power which can ensure security in the strategic water.
News ID 182600
