November 15-2013
The Pasdar maritime arm says the US Navy in the Persian Gulf is subservient to the Pasdaran and does whatever it is told to do.
This line of rhetoric has been popular for some time with the Pasdaran even though it contradicts another popular line of rhetoric holding that the US military is threatening the Islamic Republic.
The deputy commander of the Pasdar maritime arm, Rear Admiral Ali-Reza Tangsiri said last Wednesday that US warships in the Persian Gulf show full respect for Iran’s warnings since dire consequences would otherwise await them.
“Today, when we radio Americans in the Persian Gulf or in the Strait of Hormuz, they respond to us and state their nationality and the number of their warships. This is the result of the efforts made by the martyrs and their blood,” Tangsiri said in a ceremony held at the Fars news agency headquarters.
Tangsiri made it sound as if this was a new development and US warships had not responded in previous years. But it is an international requirement for ships to identify themselves, including warships.
US Navy officers have said the Iranian Navy has always responded—and responded politely—to US Navy queries, though they say the Pasdar maritime arm is not always compliant with the rules and is sometimes testy.
A senior Pasdar commander said in 2012 that the US Navy is deeply fearful of Iran’s naval power in the Persian Gulf, adding that Iran will not leave US warships undamaged in case of a military attack against Iran.
“I assure you that if the US warships do any foolish action they won’t leave the area unhurt,” said the commander of the Pasdar maritime arm, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi.
He told a gathering in Mashhad that the US Navy is afraid of Iran’s naval might and said US warships have even rerouted their direction of travel in the Persian Gulf in order to stay away from Iranian warships.
