Tehran, July 25 (RHC)-- President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has the responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf and will decisively confront any attempt at destabilizing the strategic waters.
The Iranian president said that his country "will not allow anyone to try to disrupt order in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz."
Rouhani strongly warned against acts of mischief in the Persian Gulf as well as violations of the international maritime law governing the body of water, calling on all sides to heed the warnings of the naval forces of Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been in charge of ensuring security in the maritime bottleneck.
The Iranian president further hailed the IRGCs recent capture of a law-breaking British-flagged oil tanker, which had collided with a fishing boat in the Strait and ignored its repeated distress calls as a very precise, professional and correct step. "I believe that the entire world should be grateful to the IRGC for the security in the Persian Gulf, Rouhani said.
Besides safeguarding the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, he added, Iran endeavors to contribute to maritime security in other international waterways such as the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Indian Ocean, referring to the countrys numerous successful anti-piracy missions and patrols in the high seas.
The president further slammed the illegal seizure of an Iranian supertanker by UK British naval forces off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month.
And Rouhani further touched on a decision by Iran to suspend some of its commitments under a multilateral 2015 nuclear deal on a stage-by-stage basis after the U.S. left the accord and unleashed a harsh campaign of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran made the decision after the remaining European signatories to deal namely France, Britain and the UK failed to fulfill their end of the bargain by protecting Iran against the American sanctions.
Tehran says those reductions are line with its legal rights under the deal and will be reversible as soon as the European side fulfills its side of the accord. Rouhani further said the Islamic Republic would never lose any chance for negotiation as far as it is fair and based on mutual respect.
Tehran, though, would take another step towards reducing its nuclear obligations if it is faced with continued violations of its legal rights. Iran not in the habit of acting obstinately , but would not submit to bullying," he added.
