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Iran Threatens Military Action Over Abu Musa
The war of words between Tehran and the six-members of the Gulf Cooperation Council over three disputed islands continues to escalate.Iran's ground forces commander warned the military is ready for action should diplomacy fail, state TV reported on Thursday. General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said Iranian forces are "capable of confronting any offender: against Iran's sovereignty over the strategic Abu Musa island in the Persian Gulf. It was the first time an Iranian military commander commented on the issue since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week made a controversial visit to Abu Musa. "We do not allow any country to carry out an invasion," Pourdastan said. "If these disturbances are not solved through diplomacy, the military forces are ready to show the power of Iran to the offender. Iran will strongly defend its right." Abu Musa is situated on the approach to the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz through which much of the world's exportable oil flows. Iran's Revolutionary Guards and US Navy warships are both currently patrolling the narrow waterway, which Iran has threatened to close should Western pressure continue to mount. The Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet has said any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz would be regarded as an "act of war." Iran took control of tiny Abu Musa and two nearby islands the Greater and Lesser Tunb in 1971, after British forces left the region. Posted by: tipper 2012-04-19 |
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