US Sailors’ Case Displays Iran’s Might, Kindness: Senior Cleric
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani stressed that in the recent case of the capture of US Navy sailors, who had intruded Iran’s territorial waters, the world witnessed how powerful and at the same time kind Iranians are.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy surrounded and captured the US sailors bravely and powerfully, Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani said, addressing a huge gathering of worshippers here in Tehran on Friday.
“This sends a message to the US and other countries that Iran is powerful, mighty, and strong, and at the same time shows kindness, which we witnessed in the recent release of the US forces,” he added.
In similar remarks on Thursday, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the US sailors’ case showed that the Persian Gulf’s security is in Iran’s control.
In a message to the Commander of IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, Boroujerdi said the “brave” move by the Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf indicated that Iran controls the security of this sensitive region.
It also showed that the United States cannot refuse to observe the rules of the game in this body of water, he added in the letter.
The clear message that the move sent to regional countries was that the Islamic Republic of Iran feels responsible for the security of Persian Gulf, he stated.
The IRGC Navy on Tuesday captured 10 US Navy sailors inside Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, but released them on Wednesday following an apology and after technical and operational investigations indicated that the intrusion into Iranian territorial waters was “unintentional”.