Speaking to reporters on Monday, Baqaei said that “the war of tankers” may not be an accurate term to describe what we are witnessing in the region.
Since February 28, Iran has been countering the United States and the Zionist regime’s military aggression, and from that point onward, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have been rendered insecure, not by any action of Iran, but as a direct result of US—Israeli belligerence, he said.
The situation has continued ever since, taking different forms, including a naval blockade, he added.
It was the United States that first carried out attacks on vessels, both within Iranian regional waters and on the high seas, he reiterated.
Attacks on commercial vessels are contrary to international law and constitute a terrorist act, he stated.
The US Secretary of Defense’s taking pride in this operation effectively amounts to an acknowledgment of having committed a war crime against commercial vessels, Baqaei said.
As long as the US economic war and naval blockade continue, Iran retains full legal and operational rights to self-defense, he stressed.
Regional countries should beware of emboldening the main threat to peace and security
In response to a question regarding threats by Israeli officials against regional countries and their hostile rhetoric, Baqaei said the Zionist regime harbors ambitions of dominating the entire region and humiliating all regional countries.
Such overt threats by the regime’s officials against regional countries are not new, he emphasized.
They have previously spoken of the dream of a “Greater Israel” and have also threatened Turkey in various ways, he said.
This demonstrates the Zionist regime’s expansionist mindset and should remind regional countries of the true danger to regional peace and security, he noted.
Regional countries need to be careful that other concerns do not embolden the main enemy of peace and security, he stressed.
