WANA (Jan 31) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has criticized the continued presence of foreign military forces in the Persian Gulf, arguing that such involvement has consistently led to heightened tensions rather than stability. He said regional experience clearly shows that extra-regional interventions have failed to reduce crises and have instead contributed to greater insecurity.

 

Araghchi illustrated his point by referring to basic geography, noting the vast distance between the United States and the Persian Gulf. While U.S. borders lie in the Western Hemisphere, thousands of kilometers away, Iran and the Strait of Hormuz sit on the opposite side of the globe, at the center of one of the world’s most sensitive energy corridors.

 

Despite this distance, he said, U.S. military forces operating near Iran’s shores are now attempting to dictate how Iran conducts military exercises within its own territory.

Iran and the United States. Social media /WANA News Agency

The Iranian foreign minister also highlighted what he described as a clear contradiction in Washington’s approach. According to Araghchi, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) calls on a military force designated by the U.S. government as a “terrorist organization” to behave “professionally,” while at the same time implicitly recognizing that same force’s right to conduct military drills.

 

He described this duality as a reflection of a broader reality in today’s international politics, adding that several European governments have actively chosen to follow a similar path.

 

Addressing regional security, Araghchi emphasized the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

 

He said the force has long been, and continues to be, a guarantor of peace and stability in the area, and is widely regarded in the region as a powerful actor that has demonstrated its capabilities both against armed non-state groups and against invading military forces.

 

In closing, Araghchi stressed that freedom of navigation and the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz are as vital for Iran as they are for its neighboring countries. However, he argued that decades of experience have shown that the presence of extra-regional military forces in this strategic waterway has produced the opposite of what is claimed: increased tension rather than de-escalation.