News - Middle East: The spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces says the military presence of Western governments in West Asia is illegitimate, stressing that the United States must withdraw its troops from the strategic Persian Gulf region.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi made the remarks at an event in the northwestern Iranian city of Zanjan on Wednesday as he pointed to the recent drills by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy in the Persian Gulf region.

Earlier in the month, the IRGC’s Navy launched drills to show its power and combat defense readiness in protecting the security of the Persian Gulf as well as the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

The exercises involved operational combat, vessel, missile, drone, air-sea, electronic warfare and rapid response units, along with Basij volunteer forces.

“We sent out the Islamic Republic’s warning in the form of an exercise and we do not pull any punches with anyone regarding the three [Persian Gulf] islands and these islands totally belong to the Islamic Republic,” Shekarchi said.

The spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces underlined that the enemies of the Islamic Republic keep trying to foment chaos in the West Asia region to portray their presence as legitimate.

“The issue is not so complicated, but the core of the message is for our main enemies, namely the United States, the Zionist regime, France and England, who want to prove their presence to be legitimate under [certain] pretexts and stay in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of ​​Oman, and regional waters of West Asia, but this is what tell them, ‘Your presence is illegal and you must leave the region,’” he noted.

Shekarchi also stressed that the countries of the region should not be affected by the psychological warfare of extra-regional states.

Emphasizing that the Islamic Republic maintains a strong and powerful presence in the region, the commander said, “It is not necessary to tie your security to that of Western countries such as the US, England and France. Get rid of dependence and do not be swayed by the psychological warfare of enemies and be careful that they do not goad you into a conflict with the Islamic Republic.”

The latest drills by the IRGC’s Navy came amid reports of the US deployment of more than 3,000 sailors and Marine forces to West Asia under the pretext of protecting ships and vessels crossing the main waterways in the strategic region.

In recent years, the US navy has several times seized Iranian-controlled tankers and shipments of oil en route to other countries, citing its own sanctions on Iran's oil exports.

Iran says it views US military vessels lurking in the waters of the Persian Gulf as a threat to its security and a source of tension and instability in the region.

Source: Press TV