Iran defense chief says U.S. presence in Persian Gulf is ‘damaging’

TEHRAN, Jan. 4 (MNA) – Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday that the presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf is ‘damaging’ which causes turbulence in the region. “We have said that the presence of extra-regional powers in the Persian Gulf is unhelpful and damaging and their presence has no result other than turbulence in the region,” Vahidi told reporters after a cabinet meeting. “Therefore we have always been saying that they (should) not have presence in this waterway.”