Gen. Hatami:

Iran warns against militarizing Indian Ocean

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami has warned against the colonial powers’ plots to militarize the Indian Ocean region, conveying Iran’s concerns in that regard to the IOR meeting.

News ID: 82981

Date: 04 February 2021 - 23:09

The Iranian Defense Minister made the remarks while addressing a meeting of defense ministers of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) underway in India’s Bangalore.

In his address to the meeting, the Iranian defense minister called for a re-engineering of the world order based on "the emerging power elements and liberation from polarization."

Gen. Hatami said that the tragic events of the last decade have proved to us that the prescribed patterns and models of the hegemonic powers have achieved nothing but violence, extremism, terrorism, killing, border disputes, war, insecurity, and destruction.

In an apparent reference to the previous Trump administration in the United States, he said that everyone could see that how the world can become more dangerous and on the verge of a pandemic of insecurity with the arrival of incompetent, arrogant, outlaw, and seditionist rulers in power, especially in large and influential countries.

The Iranian minister further referred to the US unlawful and unilateral pullout from international agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement, saying that the big powers cannot be trusted anymore.

He also pointed to the US assassination of Iran’s Lt. Gen. Q assem Soleimani and Iraqi PMU commander Abu Mahdi Muhandis in his remarks as well as more recently the top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, condemning the US state terrorism.

He also warned against the US and Israeli attempts to use terrorism as a tool to extend their influence in the region, expressing Iran’s readiness to share its experience in fighting terrorism to the countries of the region.

Elsewhere in his speech, he touched upon the geopolitical importance of Iran, expressing Iran’s willingness to play a more significant and active role in maintaining the security of the Indian Ocean region.

“This region must be managed according to high and advanced indigenous security standards, and presenting the proposal for security in the region entitled 'Hormuz Peace Endeavor' by the Islamic Republic of Iran has been within this framework,” the defense minister added.

He also warned against colonial powers’ attempts to militarize the region, stressing that the security of the Indian Ocean region must be managed by local powers.

He also said that the Indian Ocean has great potentials to make peace in the world, adding that the region could serve as a role model for peace in other regions.