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IRAN-MILITARY-DIPLOMACY
Iran accuses foreign forces of raising Gulf ‘insecurity’
TEHRAN, Sept 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday
denounced the presence of foreign forces in the Gulf and said Iran will put
forward a peace plan, after arch-foe the United States ordered reinforcements
to the tinderbox region.
“Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for
our region,” Rouhani said in a speech at an annual military parade.
Rouhani also said Iran would present a peace plan to the United Nations in
the coming days.
“In this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our
neighbours that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them,” he
said.
Tensions between Iran and the US and its allies have threatened to boil
over since May last year when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew
from a 2015 nuclear deal and later began reimposing sanctions in a campaign
of “maximum pressure”.
The tensions escalated in the wake of devastating September 14 attacks on
Saudi oil installations that Washington and Riyadh have, to varying degrees,
blamed on Tehran.
Following the attacks, which caused global oil prices to spike, Trump
initially raised the possibility of a military response, tweeting that the US
was “locked and loaded”.
Washington later expanded its long list of sanctions against Tehran by
further targeting its central bank, as Trump indicated he did not plan to
strike back.
On Friday, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the US was sending
reinforcements to Saudi Arabia at “the kingdom’s request”, while noting the
forces would be “defensive in nature” and focused on air and missile defence.
– ‘Stay away’ –
In his speech delivered before a massive military parade, Rouhani called
on the foreign powers in the Gulf region to “stay away”.
“If they’re sincere, then they should not make our region the site of an
arms race,” he said.
“Your presence has always brought pain and misery… The farther you keep
yourselves from our region and our nations, the more security there will be.
“We are even ready to ignore their past mistakes… since today the
situation is such that the enemies of Islam and the region, meaning America
and Zionism, want to abuse the rift between us,” said Rouhani.
“Our logic is the logic of a Persian Gulf whose security comes from
within.”
Following his speech, the armed forces paraded their latest equipment,
including tanks, missiles and armoured vehicles as Rouhani and top military
commanders saluted them.
The annual military parade marks the start of the week commemorating
Iran’s 1980-1988 war with Iraq known as the “sacred defence”.
– ‘Act of war’ –
Rouhani is expected to travel to New York on Monday, a day before general
debate kicks off at the UN General Assembly.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is subject to US sanctions, has
already arrived in New York.
Tensions have flared in the Gulf since May, when Iran began reducing its
commitments to the nuclear deal and the US said it was sending forces to
waters near the Islamic republic in response to “indications of a credible
threat” from its forces.
The US deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force
to the sensitive waterways, before sending B-52 bombers, an amphibious
assault ship and Patriot missile battery.
Following the deployments, commercial ships were mysteriously attacked,
drones downed and oil tankers seized in Gulf waters.
Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US
drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment.
The regional crisis deepened with the September 14 attacks on Saudi energy
giant Aramco’s Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield, which halved the
kingdom’s oil output.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility, but the US says
it has concluded the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted
to “an act of war”.
Saudi Arabia, which has been bogged down in a five-year war in Yemen, has
warned of “appropriate measures” once the source of the strikes is confirmed
by a UN investigation.
A Huthi plan for a cessation of hostilities announced on Friday has been
welcomed by the UN, but Saudi Arabia was sceptical, saying it would “judge
other parties by their deeds”.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1648 hrs