IRGC: Presence of US troops in Persian Gulf unjustifiable

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 10 / Trend S. Isayev, D./ Iranian Deputy Chief-of-Staff Brig.-Gen Masoud Jazayeri said that Presence of US troops in Persian Gulf is unjustifiable, IRNA reported. The Persian Gulf countries can provide their own security in the region without foreign troops, he said. Responsing to releasing 13 Iranian sailor from pirates by US troops, Jazayeri said that helping US army to release of Iranian sailors does not legitimate presence of the U.S army in Middle East. Earlier, Iranian Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi also stated that the US presence in the Persian Gulf is not justified. "This issue does not provide any reason for legitimacy of the US troops' presence in the Persian Gulf region," Vahidi told reporters after a cabinet session when asked to comment on a western media report that 13 Iranian sailors were rescued by the US forces in the Persian Gulf. Vahidi said Iranian Foreign Ministry has announced Tehran's stances on the rescue of the Iranians by the US navy. "We do not reject the good nature of the work by the US navy; however, that cannot provide any reason for the presence of western forces in the Persian Gulf region," he added. Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday welcomed release of 13 Iranian sailors from captivity of Somali pirates by the US forces, IRNA reported a few days back. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told IRNA that the release of Iranian sailors by the US forces has been a humanitarian action, adding that campaign against sea pirates is an international obligation. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az