Iranian senior officials on Sunday called for the convergence of regional states and the exit of foreign forces from the regional waters.
President Hassan Rouhani said that foreign forces in the region cause problems and insecurity for regional nations and endanger the maritime and energy security.
Rouhani made the remarks in the capital Tehran at the ceremony to mark defense week commemorating Iranian sacrifices during the eight-year Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s.
He said that the security of the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman should be provided by the cooperation of the littoral states.
Iran extends a hand of friendship and brotherhood to all its neighbors because the “enemies” of Islam and the region are seeking to take advantage of the rifts among regional states, he said according to the state TV.
Iran would neither allow any violation of its borders nor would it violate the border of other countries, he added.
In his upcoming visit to New York to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly meeting, he will offer the Hormuz Peace Initiative aimed at securing the waterway and establishing regional peace and cooperation, Rouhani said.
On Sunday, Iranian armed forces staged nationwide military parades to mark the start of defense week and showcased Iran’s advanced military abilities.
Iran’s army, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), police forces, border guards and the volunteer militia Basij forces participated in the parade.
In Tehran, myriads of Iran’s home-made advanced missiles, including ballistic missiles with the range of 1,300 km-2,000 km were displayed.
Besides, the recent achievements of the Iranian armed forces in the missile industry, equipment for the ground, naval and air defense forces as well as communication gears were on display in the military event.
In the Gulf region, surface and sub-surface vessels as well as hovercrafts belonging to the Iranian army and the IRGC attended the parade with the fighter jets, including Iran’s first domestic fighter jet Kowsar, flying over them, according to the Press TV.
Attending the parade in the south of Iran on Sunday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani described the U.S. plan to create a so-called security coalition in the Gulf as a new plot to “plunder” the region.
The regional countries themselves are capable of establishing security in the region, he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
“We regard the emergence of such coalitions as the start of a new game to make the region insecure,” Larijani said.
The Islamic republic will not allow the Gulf region to be used as a tool to create insecurity, he added.
Larijani hailed the Iranian armed forces’ capabilities, saying that they have powerfully established security in the country and the region.
