IRGC Navy Commander Reiterates Iran's High Deterrent Power

“We are in a condition of high deterrent power,” Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said in a conference in Iran’s northern city of Rasht on Monday.

He also pointed to the remarkable presence of some 100 IRGC naval vessels in the Persian Gulf, and added, “These vessels are active and have a constant presence in the region.”

Referring to the Strait of Hormuz as a pivotal waterway through which “the global energy passes”, Fadavi also made it clear that Iran takes full control of the energy flow through that strait.

Iran is now the main power providing security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring the safe passage of energy supplies through the strategic region.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman.

It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the high seas and is one of the world's most strategically-important choke points.

Nearly 40 percent of the world's traded crude oil also passes through this waterway.

In similar remarks in September, Rear Admiral Fadavi had said the US Navy has started to shift its strategy of dispatching large warships to the Persian Gulf after Americans realized that their vessels are exposed to the speed boats of the IRGC.

“They (US vessels) are vulnerable to the IRGC speed boats and sometimes to (marine) mines,” he said at the time.

He had also asserted that US forces are very conscious of Iran’s high deterrent power in the region, arguing that although the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have definite entryways and exit routes, American naval forces enter the Persian Gulf from the exit passages.

The commander had described such a move as a “humiliation” for the US.