Iran Opposes US Military Presence in Persian GulfIran has strongly denounced the current full military readiness alert of the U.S. naval fleet in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday."Even though this particular readiness is unrelated to Iran, our standing policy has always been against the presence of foreign military forces in the Persian Gulf," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs Ali Ahani was quoted as saying. The U.S. has said that its military forces have remain stationed in the Gulf "to maintain security in the region, which is still threatened by Iraq". Its naval fleet in the Gulf has recently been in full alert " perhaps due to the threats received by several American embassies in the region from Osama Bin Laden", a Saudi millionaire who has been accused of masterminding the bomb blasts at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in August 1999, which claimed the more than 200 lives. In an interview with a local English newspaper, Ahani warned that "the continued presence of these forces is detrimental to the stability of the region and the national interests of the Persian Gulf countries." Ahani said that Iranian armed forces are ready to defend their country's territorial integrity and national sovereignty in case of any provocation by U.S. forces or any other foreign powers. He warned the U.S. think twice before instigating and undertaking any further military provocation and action. Iran and the U.S. severed relations in 1980 after the seizure, by some Muslim students, of the U.S. embassy in Tehran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. By accusing Iran of sponsoring terrorism, seeking to sabotage Arab-Israeli peace efforts and committing human rights abuses, Washington has imposed a hostile policy towards Iran. |
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