Senior Army official says chances of military conflict in PG reducing

TEHRAN (defapress) – The Head of the Iranian Army’s Strategic Studies Center noted that the probability of any military conflict in the Persian Gulf region is decreasing as no country wants to see a new crisis in the region.

News ID: 78268

Date: 04 August 2019 - 14:00

“At first glance, it may seem that the situation in the Persian Gulf is heading towards a military conflict but when studying the situation more deeply, we see that chances for such a conflict become less probable,” Brigadier General Ahmadreza Pourdastan told Mehr News Agency on Sunday, adding, “all countries which have interests in the region are by no means willing to see a new crisis in the Middle East.”

“The existing course of affairs and events show that our diplomacy will definitely fulfill our aimed results,” he said.

“The military capabilities of our Armed Forces are to such an extent that the enemies don’t dare go for a military option against us,” Pourdastan said, highlighting, “the Persian Gulf is like a tinderbox and explosion of the first firecracker can lead to a huge disaster.”

Tensions in the region erupted after US implemented a series of hostile policies on Iran, namely the withdrawal from the nuclear deal, re-imposition of economic sanctions, deploying forces in the region, and designating IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization among others. Tehran says it doesn’t look for war but also stresses that it will strongly defend against any possible threats.

The situation became more complicated when UK Royal Forces seized a tanker laden with Iranian oil in Gibraltar, claiming that the shipment was headed to Syria which is under EU sanctions. Iran strongly condemned the illegal seizure, noting that the tanker was not headed to Syria and that Iran is not an EU member to be subject to such embargos. In the last string of events some two weeks later, a UK-flagged oil tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz turned off its transponder and was moving in the wrong direction after colliding with an Iranian vessel and ignoring warnings of Iranian forces. The ship was eventually seized by IRGC due to failure to abide by international regulations.

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