Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami has warned the governments of the region and the “Zionist movement” against any role in the Persian Gulf. This comes in the wake of the unprecedented and important Negev Summit, which was attended by Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Salami’s comments were reported by Iran’s Fars News Agency and Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday night. The reports said he was “referring to the security situation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman and some movements of the presence of the Zionists in this strategic region.”
“We explicitly declare and warn that the continuation of such relations is not acceptable at all,” he was quoted as saying. “They should know that the existence of the evil Zionist regime everywhere is a cause of insecurity.”
Salami spoke about strategic islands in his speech and bragged about the IRGC Navy’s capabilities and defense and combat readiness.
“The IRGC Navy, especially in recent years, has achieved extraordinary capabilities and achievements in the fields of UAVs, missiles, buoyancy, forestry, air and submarines [and is] able to react quickly and effectively to the moment,” he said.
The IRGC has recently put drones on its fast boats. Last July, Iran used a drone to target a ship in the Gulf of Oman.
Salami also discussed “the great steps that the IRGC Navy has taken to make extraordinary leaps in the quality of equipment, weapons and upgrades and improving the state” of the Iranian IRGC forces.
He bragged about the increased power of “UAVs, submarines, vessels, missiles [and] electronic warfare units.”
Salami then slammed Israel, which he referred to as “Zionists.”
“Unfortunately, some regimes in the southern Persian Gulf countries have established political and security relations with the Zionist regime,” he said, referring to Bahrain and the UAE.
“They have stated that this issue is a serious threat to the security of the region and especially these regimes,” he added. “We explicitly declare and warn that the continuation of such relations is not acceptable at all, and they should know that the existence of the evil Zionist regime anywhere is insecurity.”
Iranian media reports said Salami emphasized that “the presence of the Zionists in these areas is not tolerable, and it is necessary for these regimes to reconsider their political policy.”
This clearly indicates a new threat to Israel and its partners in the Gulf. Iran attacked ships in 2019 and has used both mines and UAVs.