IRGC Deputy Commander Salami Threatens to Prevent the U.S. from Free Passage through the Hormuz Strait

IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami warned the U.S. and its allies in the region that if they threatened Iran, Iran would prevent their vessels from passing the Hormuz Strait. "We will take whatever steps are necessary," he said in the Iranian Channel 1 TV interview, which aired on May 3, 2016.

Following are excerpts

Hossein Salami: The [Americans] believe that our navy is dangerous. Indeed, that is true. In my view, this is the first time that the Americans have assessed the might of our navy correctly. If the Americans want to level threats against us, we can be very dangerous to them, as we have declared. They are aware of our tremendous might. We have increased and expanded our naval might, in order to overcome the military might of superpowers like America. After all, we have no other enemy in the region except for America. The other countries and governments are not our enemies, and we are not theirs. Of course, they do not even have the potential to be our enemy.

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We warn America, its partners, and its allies in the region that if they decide to use the language of threats against us, we will enforce the article on innocent passage in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and we will prevent the passage of any ship or naval vessel that threatens us. If they threaten us, this is what will happen, and we will take whatever steps are necessary.

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