IRGC Rejects Claim about Rocket Launch near US Warship
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Public Relations Office on Thursday categorically dismissed as “psychological war” Washington’s recent claim about a “provocative” rocket launch by Iran’s naval forces near a US warship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a "highly provocative" rocket test last week near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
In reaction, General Ramezan Sharif stressed that the IRGC Navy has held no drills across the Strait of Hormuz within the past week.
Therefore, he added, the IRGC did not launch any rockets or missiles during the period of time claimed by US officials.
Under the current circumstances, such false news are spread merely as part of a “psychological war”, General Sharif said.
“Security and peace in the strategic Persian Gulf region is among Iran’s serious strategies, and the IRGC keeps holding its drills in due time based on its organizational schedule in a bid to improve the required preparations in this field,” he added.
A Pentagon official told CNN on Wednesday that a US aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz.
While transiting the strait that sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the USS Harry S. Truman had the encounter while the IRGC was conducting a live-fire exercise in the area on Saturday, according to Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a US Central Command spokesman.
A US military official claimed that while the Iranians did not appear to be targeting any specific ships with the exercise, their actions were "unnecessarily provocative and unsafe."
There was never any direct communication between the US and Iranian navies during the incident, according to the official.
The USS Harry S. Truman has recently arrived back in the Persian Gulf to allegedly help secure the region and support the so-called coalition-led airstrikes against the ISIL terrorist group.
Iran has frequently stressed that the establishment of security in the Persian Gulf is related only to the countries of the region and foreign intervention is totally rejected.
Back in May, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined that security of the Persian Gulf region comes within the purview of the regional countries alone, and dismissed the US claim of seeking security in the region.
“The Persian Gulf security relates to the countries of the region which have common interests, and not to the US. So, security of the Persian Gulf region should be provided by the countries of this region itself,” the Leader said at the time.
