Iran Not to Tolerate Anti-Tehran Coalition in Region: Leader’s Adviser
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A defense adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei deplored a recent push by the US to form a coalition in the Persian Gulf region and said Iran will not tolerate any alliance against it.
“In our view, formation of any coalition in the region without the participation of regional countries would create tensions,” Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said in remarks released on Sunday.
“Therefore, anyone joining the (US-led) coalition is considered to have made a hostile act against the Islamic Republic,” he said, adding that Iran reserves the right to defend itself and confront this coalition.
“Certainly, we will not allow a coalition in our region to create ... a situation against us; we will certainly not tolerate this situation,” the top adviser said.
He further blamed the Israeli regime for the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and said the Zionist lobby in the US is luring the White House into forming the coalition in the region.
The US has announced plans to form a coalition to supposedly protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from what it calls an Iranian threat following a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.
Washington has accused Iran of having a hand in those attacks, a claim Tehran has strongly rejected. Tehran has warned that such sabotage operations may be part of a general ploy to target Iran amid increasing regional tensions.
The US has asked its allies, including Germany, Japan, France, Britain and Israel, to join the coalition.
The call has, however, not been warmly received, with Israel and Britain becoming the only parties which have said flat out that they would join the alliance.
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said on August 7 that the regime would be part of such the US-led coalition to “protect the security of the Persian Gulf.” Katz claimed that Israel was determined to stop “Iranian entrenchment” in the Middle East region and strengthen Tel Aviv’s relationship with Persian Gulf countries.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on August 8 that Iran considered such possible Israeli presence in the region to be a clear threat to its national security, and reserved the right to counter it.
