Iran Warns the U.S. Again About the Strait of Hormuz

Two days after a tweet from the U.S. Secretary of State stating that the Strait of Hormuz is 'not under Iran's control,' the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic threatened that if 'hostile countries' act 'beyond international law,' they will face action from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said on Wednesday, September 7, during a meeting of the IRGC Navy commanders in Mashhad, that the armed forces 'never underestimate enemy threats' and always 'monitor their strategies.' Baqeri emphasized that 'hostile countries are anxious before entering the Strait of Hormuz and have behaved according to international law over the past year, and if they act beyond that, they will face countermeasures and control actions from the IRGC Navy.' Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted on Monday, September 5, stating, 'The Islamic Republic of Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway. The United States will continue to work with its partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free trade in international waters.' On the same day, Alireza Tangsiri, the new commander of the IRGC Navy, stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has 'complete oversight' over the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces also stated on Wednesday that 'the Persian Gulf is our home and homeland, and the enemies are unwelcome guests in the Persian Gulf.' He added, 'Enemies should know that the Persian Gulf is not a suitable place for their wars and conflicts, so that whenever a fool in America orders war, even their experts announce that they do not have the capacity to confront the Islamic Republic of Iran.' After the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, Washington announced that it aims to exert maximum pressure on the Iranian authorities by re-imposing sanctions and attempting to reduce Iran's oil sales to zero. In response to these sanctions, the Iranian President and military commanders have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. However, the operational commander of the U.S. Navy has warned Iran that the United States will maintain freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz by any means necessary. Meanwhile, Jim Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, also stated on Tuesday, September 6, that 'Iran has been warned about the evils it continues to commit in the region, about the murders it has committed, what it is doing alongside Assad in Syria, its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, and its support for the Houthis with missiles fired at Saudi Arabia.' Amid tensions between Iran and the U.S., Yemeni Shiite rebels recently targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, causing Saudi Arabia to temporarily halt oil exports from this strait. Following this incident, Nasser Shabani, head of the Defense Security Research Center at Imam Hussein University, controversially stated on August 6 that the Islamic Republic had asked the Yemeni rebels to attack two Saudi oil tankers, and they did so. However, Ramadan Sharif, the IRGC spokesman, denied Shabani's statements, claiming that Shabani holds 'no responsibility' in this institution.