Tehran has advised Israel to stay clear of the Persian Gulf, where the US has been struggling to amass an anti-Iranian armada, noting that every vessel illegally present in the region increases the risk of an all-out conflict.
“Any illegitimate presence by the Zionists in the waters of the Persian Gulf could spark a war,”commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, warned on Sunday.
Israel reportedly volunteered to provide intelligence and assistance to the US-led coalition against Iran, as the pressure in the Persian Gulf mounts, after a series of mysterious tanker attacks and reciprocal vessel seizures by Iran and the UK. Israel warned last month that it is ready to strike Iran in the case of any “mistaken calculations,” piling on the pressure after Tehran said a US attack would mean “only half an hour will remain of Israel’s lifespan.”
The Islamic Republic has vowed to protect its sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond, accusing the US of trying to enforce its unilateral oil sanctions through military pressure after failing to do it via political extortion. Washington insists its intentions are peaceful and that it is rallying foreign warships to the region with the noble goal of protecting shipping lanes and vessels from Tehran.
So far, the US has had trouble drumming up support for its “maritime policing” initiative among European countries, as only the UK has been eager enough to send two of its vessels into the midst of the tensions.
Israel’s participation in Gulf security force opens its 5th front against Iran
Tehran is treating the planned Israeli role in the US-led Gulf defense force much as Israel would react to the sudden arrival in Beirut of an Iranian submarine fleet or the transfer of an Al-Qods brigade to Bint Jbeil in S. Lebanon – casus belli.
Since seizing power 40 years ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran has strived with all its might to distance the Americans and their allies from its land and maritime borders. However, US forces are not just staying in Syria, Iraq and the Arabian Gulf emirates, but have redeployed at Saudi bases and are preparing to co-opt Israel to the naval, aerial and intelligence force Washington is setting up to safeguard Gulf shipping.
Tehran therefore sees its most alarming foes rallying at its front and back doors and its most cherished defense strategy blowing away. This has spurred Iranian officials to issue almost daily warnings. Their message: “The illegitimate presence by the Zionists in the waters of the Persian Gulf could spark a war.” This no longer empty rhetoric; Iran may be expected to add Israeli vessels to its potential US, British, Saudi and UAE targets.
Iran’s claim to be the legitimate guardian of Gulf shipping including the Strait of Hormuz has always been the rationale of its national defense posture. Still, for years, Tehran took no notice of Western claims that Israel’s nuclear-armed Dolphin submarines had established a permanent presence in Gulf waters opposite Iran’s shores as a “second-strike” resource in case of an Iranian attack on the Jewish state. No such submarines were ever sighted; nor was their presence ever proven, which made it easy for the Iranians to turn a blind eye.
No longer is this possible since the US announced Israel’s participation in the Gulf defense force. The rules have changed. This change had its onset in Israel’s first attack in Iraq in the second half of July on an Iranian missile stock and command center. Tehran sees Israel’s Gulf role as the next step in the new game: the opening of a fifth front against Iran after Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
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