Tehran says it controls all of Gulf

Rouhani asks Europe for guarantees on banking channels, oil sales

Iran has full control of the Gulf and the US Navy does not belong there, the head of the navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Alireza Tangsiri, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying on Monday.

Tehran has suggested it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports in retaliation for US sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude. Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.

Tangsiri said Iran had full control of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it. Closing the strait would be the most direct way of blocking shipping.

“We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the US and the countries whose home is not in here,” he said in the quote, which appeared in English translation on Tasnim.

He added, “All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Persian Gulf. Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day.”

Also, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear agreement to act to save the pact, though France’s leader called again for broader talks on Tehran’s missile program and its role in the Middle East region.

In a phone call to French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said Iran wanted the Europeans to give guarantees on banking channels and oil sales as well as in the field of insurance and transportation, according to the staterun Iranian news agency IRNA.

“Iran has acted upon all its promises in the nuclear agreement and, with attention to the one-sided withdrawal of America... expects the remaining partners to operate their programs more quickly and transparently,” Rouhani was quoted as saying.

Separately, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Iran’s enemies would not prevail in a conflict.

“The enemies are strictly avoiding any conflict with Iran because they know that it will not be beneficial for them,” Jafari said, according to Tasnim.